Author: Jake Huolihan

If ever there were a hop deserving of the designation of classic American, Cascade would have to be it. Originally released in 1971 by the Oregon State University hop breeding program, Cascade took the country by storm when used by the likes of New Albion and Sierra Nevada Brewing Company who featured this novel variety in their Pale Ales and introduced curious beer drinkers to a new world of flavor and aroma.

Alpha: 5.5 – 9%

Beta: 6.0 – 7.5%

Cohumulone: 30 – 35% of alpha acids

Total Oil: 0.8 – 2.5 mL/100g

Myrcene: 45 – 60%

Humulene: 14 – 20%

Caryophyllene: 5 – 9%

Farnesene: 6 – 9%

Linalool: 0.3 – 0.6%

ß-Pinene: 0.5 – 0.8%

Parentage: Open seeding, Fuggle mother

Cascade is noted as imparting floral and citrus character, with many experiencing grapefruit in particular. While these are pretty common descriptors used for many of today’s popular hop varieties, this was novel 40 years ago, providing beer drinkers a completely new experience in beers such as New Albion Ale and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. As a relatively new homebrewer, I don’t have much personal experience with Cascade and was excited to experiment with it for this edition of The Hop Chronicles!

| MAKING THE BEER |

My goal being to make a beer that amplified the hop character, I went with a very simple Pale Ale that wouldn’t allow much to get in the way of the Cascade hops.

Cascade Pale Ale

Recipe Details Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV 5.5 gal 60 min 27.7 IBUs 5.4 SRM 1.046 1.009 4.9 % Actuals 1.046 1.006 5.2 % Fermentables Name Amount % Briess Pale Ale Malt 10.25 lbs 95.35 Weyermann Vienna 8 oz 4.65 Hops Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha % Cascade 56 g 30 min Boil Pellet 5.5 Cascade 29 g 5 min Boil Pellet 5.5 Cascade 29 g 0 min Boil Pellet 5.5 Cascade 29 g 3 days Dry Hop Pellet 5.5 Yeast Name Lab Attenuation Temperature Safale US-05 (US-05) DCL/Fermentis 77% 59°F - 75°F

I whipped up a small starter of Safale US-05 American Ale yeast and readied the rest of my ingredients the day prior to brewing.

The following afternoon, I adjusted my water to achieve my desired profile then turned the flame on under my kettle to heat the strike water.

I weighed out and milled the grains while waiting for the water to heat.

I went with the no sparge mash in a bag method for this brew and added the entire volume of water to my MLT once it was ready, the mash temperature ultimately landing just under my target.

The entire volume of sweet wort was run off to my kettle after a 60 minute rest.

I opted for an abbreviated 30 minute boil, increasing the first hop addition to achieve an appropriate level of bitterness.

Once the boil was complete, I quickly chilled the wort to a few degrees above my groundwater temperature.

I transferred the chilled wort to a 6 gallon PET carboy and placed it in my cool chamber to finish chilling. A hydrometer measurement at this point showed my efficiency was slightly lower than expected, likely to due to my inexperience with a new mill, but certainly nothing to worry about.

The wort had settled in at my target fermentation temperature of 68°F/20°C within a few hours, at which point I pitched the yeast. Fermentation was very active the following day and began showing signs of slowing a few days later, so I bumped the temperature up to 72°F/22°C to encourage complete attenuation.

Similar hydrometer readings at 5 days and 7 days post-pitch indicated fermentation was indeed complete.

Since I noticed no off-flavors, it was time to proceed with kegging the beer.

I placed the keg of warm beer in my keezer and allowed it to chill to 34°F/1°C before adding a dose of gelatin fining. The cold beer was then burst carbonated over 24 hours, after which I reduced the CO2 to serving pressure and let it sit a few more days before presenting it to tasters for evaluation.

| METHOD |

Participants were instructed to focus only on the aromatic qualities of the beer before evaluating the flavor. For each aroma and flavor descriptor, tasters were asked to write-in the perceived strength of that particular characteristic on a 0-9 scale where a rating of 0 meant they did not perceive the character at all and a 9 rating meant the character was extremely strong. Once the data was collected, the average rating of each aroma and flavor descriptor was compiled and analyzed.

| RESULTS |

A total of 15 people participated in the evaluation of this beer, all blind to the hop variety used until after they completed the survey. The average aroma and flavor ratings for each descriptor were plotted on a radar graph.

Average Ratings of Aroma and Flavor Perceptions

The 3 characteristics endorsed as being most prominent by participants:

Aroma Flavor Citrus Citrus Tropical Fruit Stone Fruit Stone Fruit Tropical Fruit

The 3 characteristics endorsed as being least prominent by participants:

Aroma Flavor Onion/Garlic + Dank/Catty (tie) Dank/Catty Grassy Onion/Garlic Earthy/Woody Berry

When asked to rate the pungency/strength of the hop, the majority of tasters perceived it as being moderately pungent.

Tasters were then instructed to identify beer styles they thought the hop would work well in.

Finally, participants were asked to rate how much they enjoyed the hop character on a 1 to 10 scale.

My Impressions: I perceived the aroma of this beer as having a slight lemon note, not pungent like a lemon candy, but a subtle background characteristic that gave the impression of slight citrus sweetness. This lemon character followed through in the flavor where I also detected hints of floral and spice, again not aggressively, but in a rather balanced presentation. Overall, I thought this beer was super pleasant and found it to be reminiscent of many classic American Pale Ales I’ve tried over the years!

| CONCLUSION |

Based on this single experience of making and evaluating a beer produced with only Cascade hops, it’s clear to me how it became a pillar of the craft brewing world– unique enough to provide beer drinkers something interesting and new, yet not so overpowering in character to drive less experienced palates away. The fact Cascade remains one of the most popularly used hop varieties in craft brewing speaks volumes about its appeal, and I’m doubtful it’ll be losing steam anytime soon. While my preference for more modern hop varieties like Citra, Mosaic, and Galaxy remains unchanged, it’s possible they may never have been if it weren’t for the humble Cascade.

If you have any thoughts on this classic American aroma hop, please share them in the comments section below!

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