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So how the heck do I choose the right hops for my beer? With such a wide range of flavor and aroma characteristics, this chart can serve as a helpful guide to more than five dozen varieties. Whether you are trying to duplicate a style or are looking to experiment, the following list can help to get you started.
| Name |
Alpha Acid % |
Typical Beer Styles |
Possible Substitutions |
Flavor Description |
| Admiral (U.K.) |
13.5% to 16% |
Ale |
U.K. Target, U.K. Northdown, U.K. Challenger |
Known for its bittering potential. |
| Ahtanum |
4% to 6.3% |
|
|
Floral, citrus, sharp, and piney. |
| Amarillo |
8% to 9% |
Ale, IPA |
Cascade, Centennial |
Citrusy, flowery. |
| Bramling Cross (U.K.) |
5% to 7% |
ESB, bitter, pale ale |
U.K. Kent Golding, U.K. Progress, Whitbread Golding Variety |
Quite mild, fruity currant aroma. |
| Brewer's Gold |
7% to 8.5% |
English ale |
Bullion |
Bittering hop with neutral aroma character. |
| Brewer's Gold (German) |
6% to 7% |
Ale, heavier German-style lagers |
Northdown, Northern Brewer, Galena, Bullion |
Black currant, fruity, spicy. |
| Bullion |
6.5% to 9% |
IPA, ESB, stout |
Columbus, Northern Brewer, German Brewer's Gold |
A rich hop primarily used for bittering. Intense blackcurrant aroma. |
| Cascade |
4.5% to 7% |
Pale ale, IPA, porter, barleywine |
Centennial, Amarillo, possibly Columbus |
Pleasant, flowery, spicy, and citrusy. Can have a grapefruit flavor. |
| Centennial |
8% to 11.5% |
All ale styles, has been used with wheat beer |
Cascade, possibly Columbus |
Medium with floral and citrus tones. |
| Challenger (U.K.) |
6.5% to 8.5% |
English-style ales, porter, stout, ESB, bitter |
U.S. or German Perle, Northern Brewer |
Mild to moderate, quite spicy. |
| Chinook |
10% to 14% |
Pale ale, IPA, stout, porter, lager |
Nugget, Columbus, Northern Brewer, U.K. Target |
Mild to medium-heavy, spicy, piney, and grapefruity. |
| Cluster |
5.5% to 8.5% |
Ale and lager (good aroma for ale, good bittering for lager) |
Galena |
Medium and quite spicy. |
| Columbus |
11% to 16% |
IPA, pale ale, stout |
Nugget, Chinook, U.K. Target, Northern Brewer |
Pleasant, with pungent aroma. |
| Crystal |
2% to 4.5% |
Lager, pilsner, ESB |
Mt. Hood, Hersbrucker, French Strisslespalt, Liberty, Hallertauer |
Mild and pleasant, spicy and flowery. |
| Eroica |
9% to 12% |
Wheat |
Galena, Nugget, Chinook |
Strong but pleasant aroma. |
| First Gold (U.K.) |
6.5% to 8.5% |
Ale, ESB |
U.K. Kent Golding, maybe Crystal |
A little like Golding family; spicy. |
| Fuggle (U.S.) |
4% to 5.5% |
Any English-style beer or American ale |
U.K. Fuggle, Willamette, Styrian Golding, U.S. Tettnanger |
Mild and pleasant, earthy and fruity. |
| Fuggle (U.K.) |
4% to 5.5% |
All English-style ales, ESB, bitter, lager |
U.S. Fuggle, Willamette, Styrian Golding |
Mild, pleasant, hoppy, and robust. |
Brewer's little helper: Here's a composite list of grains and adjuncts.The color is listed in degrees Lovibond and the gravity is calculated from 1 pound of the ingredient in 1 gallon of water. Experiment and enjoy!
Key: L = Degrees Lovibond, G = Gravity
| Malt |
L |
G |
Decription |
| American Grains |
|
|
|
| Crystal Malt |
10° |
1.033-35 |
Sweet, mild caramel flavor and a golden color. Use in light lagers and light ales. |
| Crystal Malt |
20° |
1.033-35 |
Sweet, mild caramel flavor and a golden color. Use in light lagers and light ales. |
| Crystal Malt |
30° |
1.033-35 |
Sweet, mild caramel flavor and a golden color. Use in light lagers and light ales. |
| Crystal Malt |
40° |
1.033-35 |
Sweet, mild caramel flavor and a golden color. Use in light lagers and light ales. |
| Crystal Malt |
60° |
1.033-35 |
Sweet caramel flavor, deep golden to red color. For dark amber and brown ales. |
| Crystal Malt |
80° |
1.033-35 |
Sweet, smooth caramel flavor and a red to deep red color. For porters, old ales. |
| Crystal Malt |
90° |
1.033-35 |
Pronounced caramel flavor and a red color. For stouts, porters and black beers. |
| Crystal Malt |
120° |
1.033-35 |
Pronounced caramel flavor and a red color. For stouts, porters and black beers. |
| Black Patent Malt |
500° |
1.026 |
Provides color and sharp flavor in stouts and porters. |
| Roasted Barley |
300° |
1.025 |
Sweet, grainy, coffee flavor and a red to deep brown color. For porters and stouts. |
| Black Barley |
525° |
1.023-27 |
Imparts dryness. Unmalted; use in porters and dry stouts. |
| Chocolate Malt |
350° |
1.034 |
Use in all types to adjust color and add nutty, toasted flavor. Chocolate flavor. |
| Dextrin Malt (carapils) |
1.5° |
1.033 |
Balances body and flavor without adding color, aids in head retention. For any beer. |
| Pale Malt (Brewers 2-row) |
1.8° |
1.037-1.038 |
Smooth, less grainy, moderate malt flavor. Basic malt for all beer styles. |
| Pale Malt (Brewers 6-row) |
1.8° |
1.035 |
Moderate malt flavor. Basic malt for all beer styles. |
| Munich Malt |
10° |
1.034 |
Sweet, toasted flavor and aroma. For Oktoberfests and malty styles. |
| Special Roast |
50° |
1.035 |
Provides a deep golden to brown color for ales. Use in all darker ales. |
| Vienna Malt |
3.5-4° |
1.035 |
Increases malty flavor, provides balance. Use in Vienna, Märzen and Oktoberfest. |
| Victory Malt |
25° |
1.034 |
Provides a deep golden to brown color. Use in nut brown ales, IPAs and Scottish ales. |
| Wheat Malt |
2° |
1.038 |
Light flavor and creamy head. For American weizenbier, weissbier and dunkelweiss. |
| White Wheat Malt |
2° |
1.037 |
Imparts a malty flavor. For American wheat beers, wheat bock and doppel bock. |
With the plethora of yeast strains available from different companies, it can be hard to keep all of the products straight. Choosing the proper yeast strain is essential to the quality of your finished beer. Here's an overview of the most common strains currently available to homebrewers from North America's leading suppliers, who provided all of the information for this chart. Though we made every attempt to be accurate and comprehensive, this list may not include every strain and yeast supplier. To find a particular strain, ask your favorite homebrew supply shop or mail-order company.
Key: Type=Type of yeast, S=Slant, D=Dry, L=Liquid, Floc=Flocculation, Atten=Attenuation, Temp=Ideal Fermentation Temperature
| Name and Number |
Type |
Lab |
Floc. |
Atten. |
Temp. |
Decription |
| Ale Strains |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 10th Anniversary Blend WLP010 |
L |
White Labs |
Medium |
75-80% |
65-70°F |
Blend of WLP001, WLP002, WLP004 & WLP810. |
| Abbey Ale WLP530 |
L |
White Labs |
Med/High |
75-80% |
66-72°F |
Produces fruitiness and plum characteristics. |
| Alt Ale BRY 144 |
L |
Siebel Inst. |
Medium |
High |
59-68°F |
Full-flavoured but clean tasting with estery flavour. |
| American Ale 1056 |
L |
Wyeast |
Low/Med |
73-77% |
60-72°F |
Well balanced. Ferments dry, finishes soft. |
| American Ale BRY 96 |
L |
Siebel Inst. |
Medium |
High |
64-72°F |
Very clean ale flavour. |
| American Ale II 1272 |
L |
Wyeast |
High |
72-76% |
60-72°F |
Slightly nutty, soft, clean and tart finish. |
| American Ale Yeast Blend WLP060 |
L |
White Labs |
Medium |
72-80% |
68-73°F |
Blend celebrates the strengths of California ale strains. |
| Australian Ale WLP009 |
L |
White Labs |
High |
70-75% |
65-70°F |
For a clean, malty and bready beer. |
| Bastogne Belgian Ale Yeast WLP510 |
L |
White Labs |
Medium |
74-80% |
66-72°F |
A high gravity, Trappist style ale yeast. |
| Bedford British Ale WLP006 |
L |
White Labs |
High |
72-80% |
65-70°F |
Good choice for most English style ales.. |
| Belgian Abbey II 1762 |
L |
Wyeast |
Medium |
73-77% |
65-75°F |
Slightly fruity with a dry finish. |
| Belgian Ale 1214 |
L |
Wyeast |
Medium |
72-76% |
58-68°F |
Abbey-style, top-fermenting yeast for high gravity. |
| Belgian Ale WLP550 |
L |
White Labs |
Medium |
78-85% |
68-78°F |
Phenolic and spicy flavours dominate the profile. |
| Belgian Golden Ale WLP570 |
L |
White Labs |
Low |
73- 78% |
68°-75° F |
A combination of fruitiness and phenolic flavors. |
| Belgian Saison 3724 |
L |
Wyeast |
Low |
76- 80% |
70°-80° F |
Very tart and dry with spicy and bubblegum aromatics |
The amount of carbonation in bottle-conditioned homebrew is dependent on two things — the residual level of carbon dioxide after fermentation and the amount of carbonation obtained from the priming sugar.
To get the level of carbonation you desire in your homebrew, choose a level of carbonation (from Section A) and subtract the amount of residual carbonation in your beer after fermentation (from Section B). This is the amount of carbonation you to add via priming sugar. The amount of carbonation produced by three different priming agents (anhydrous glucose, glucose monohydrate and sucrose) in 5 gallons (19 L) of beer is given in Section C.
For example, let's say you fermented an American pale ale at 68 °F (20 °C) and plan to carbonate it with corn sugar (glucose monohydrate). From Section A below, you decide that you want your carbonation level to be 2.4 volumes of CO2. From Section B, you see that you should have 0.85 volumes of CO2 in your beer after fermentation at 68 °F (20 °C). Subtracting 0.85 from 2.4 gives you 1.55 volumes of CO2, the amount of carbonation required from the priming sugar. From Section C, you see that adding 4.5 oz. (128 g) yields 1.53 volumes of CO2, which is pretty close.
Section A
Levels of Carbonation in Various Beer Styles
| Style |
Volume of CO2 |
| American ales |
2.2–3.0 |
| British ales |
1.5–2.2 |
| German weizens |
2.8–5.1 |
| Belgian ales |
2.0–4.5 |
| European lagers |
2.4–2.6 |
| American lagers |
2.5–2.8 |
Section B
Residual Carbonation Left Over After Fermentation
| Temperature (°F/°C) |
Volumes CO2 |
| 47 °F (8.33 °C) |
1.21 |
| 50 °F (10.0 °C) |
1.15 |
| 53 °F (11.7 °C) |
1.09 |
| 56 °F (13.3 °C) |
1.04 |
| 59 °F (15.0 °C) |
0.988 |
| 62 °F (16.7 °C) |
0.940 |
| 65 °F (18.3 °C) |
0.894 |
| 68 °F (20.0 °C) |
0.850 |
| 71 °F (21.7 °C) |
0.807 |
| 74 °F (23.3 °C) |
0.767 |
| 77 °F (25.0 °C) |
0.728 |
| 80 °F (26.7 °C) |
0.691 |
| 83 °F (28.3 °C) |
0.655 |
Section C
Carbonation Levels Added to 5 gallons (19 L) of Beer by Priming Sugar
C1.) Priming with anhydrous glucose (anhydrous dextrose)
| Glucose (oz.) |
Glucose (g) |
Volumes CO2/19 L |
| 1.0 |
28.3 |
0.37 |
| 1.5 |
42.5 |
0.56 |
| 2.0 |
56.7 |
0.75 |
| 2.5 |
70.9 |
0.93 |
| 3.0 |
85.0 |
1.12 |
| 3.5 |
99.2 |
1.31 |
| 4.0 |
113 |
1.49 |
| 4.5 |
128 |
1.68 |
| 5.0 |
142 |
1.87 |
| 5.5 |
156 |
2.05 |
| 6.0 |
170 |
2.24 |
| 6.5 |
184 |
2.43 |
| 7.0 |
198 |
2.61 |
| 7.5 |
213 |
2.80 |
| 8.0 |
227 |
2.99 |
| 8.5 |
241 |
3.17 |
| 9.0 |
255 |
3.36 |
C2.) Priming with glucose monohydrate (dextrose monohydrate)
| Glucose.H20 (oz.) |
Glucose.H2O (g) |
Volumes CO2/19 L |
| 1.0 |
28.3 |
0.34 |
| 1.5 |
42.5 |
0.51 |
| 2.0 |
56.7 |
0.68 |
| 2.5 |
70.9 |
0.85 |
| 3.0 |
85.0 |
1.02 |
| 3.5 |
99.2 |
1.19 |
| 4.0 |
113 |
1.36 |
| 4.5 |
128 |
1.53 |
| 5.0 |
142 |
1.70 |
| 5.5 |
156 |
1.87 |
| 6.0 |
170 |
2.04 |
| 6.5 |
184 |
2.21 |
| 7.0 |
198 |
2.37 |
| 7.5 |
213 |
2.54 |
| 8.0 |
227 |
2.71 |
| 8.5 |
241 |
2.88 |
| 9.0 |
255 |
3.05 |
C3.) Priming with sucrose
| Sucrose (oz.) |
Sucrose (g) |
Volumes CO2/19 L |
| 1.0 |
28.3 |
0.39 |
| 1.5 |
42.5 |
0.59 |
| 2.0 |
56.7 |
0.79 |
| 2.5 |
70.9 |
0.98 |
| 3.0 |
85.0 |
1.18 |
| 3.5 |
99.2 |
1.37 |
| 4.0 |
113 |
1.57 |
| 4.5 |
128 |
1.77 |
| 5.0 |
142 |
1.96 |
| 5.5 |
156 |
2.16 |
| 6.0 |
170 |
2.36 |
| 6.5 |
184 |
2.55 |
| 7.0 |
198 |
2.75 |
| 7.5 |
213 |
2.95 |
| 8.0 |
227 |
3.14 |
| 8.5 |
241 |
3.34 |
| 9.0 |
255 |
3.54 |
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