Author: Matt Del Fiacco

Reportedly one of the most widely used hop varieties in the United States at one point, Willamette has a well established history. Bred in 1976 by the USDA, it is a descendant of English Fuggle and reportedly exhibits some of the same earthy characteristics with expressive floral and spicy notes. It is also noted as being appropriate for a wide variety of styles, though many believe it tends to shine in English ales and American interpretations of English styles.

Alpha: 4.5 – 6.5%

Beta: 3 – 4.5%

Cohumulone: 28 – 32% of alpha acids

Total Oil: 0.6 – 1.6 mL/100g

Myrcene: 22 – 32%

Humulene: 31 – 35%

Caryophyllene: 12 – 14%

Farnesene: 7 – 10%

Linalool: 0.4 – 0.7%

Geraniol: 0.1 – 0.3%

ß-Pinene: 0.3 – 0.5%

Parentage: triploid seedling of English Fuggle

I’ve always been aware of Willamette but have never actually used it, despite the fact descriptions of it as being a mellow hop that imparts both earthy and floral notes sounds right up my alley. Given its historical popularity, I was excited to finally try it out for this edition of The Hop Chronicles!

| MAKING THE BEER |

With quite a few reports of Willamette being primarily floral and herbal, I decided to brew a Pale Ale with a grist consisting of only Pilsner malt in hopes of producing a clean, drinkable beer.

Where There’s a Willamette, There’s a Way Pale Ale

Recipe Details Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV 5.5 gal 60 min 30.1 IBUs 3.4 SRM 1.049 1.012 4.8 % Actuals 1.049 1.012 4.8 % Fermentables Name Amount % Pilsner (Weyermann) 11.25 lbs 100 Hops Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha % Willamette 28 g 60 min Boil Pellet 3.6 Willamette 39 g 25 min Boil Pellet 3.6 Willamette 67 g 5 min Boil Pellet 3.6 Willamette 28 g 3 days Dry Hop Pellet 3.6 Yeast Name Lab Attenuation Temperature American Ale (1056) Wyeast Labs 75% 60°F - 72°F Notes Water Profile: Ca 80 | Mg 2 | Na 10 | SO4 125 | Cl 62



Coffee in hand, I began my brew day by heating RO water for a full-volume no sparge batch and measuring out my mineral additions.

I weighed out and milled the grain as the water was heating to strike temperature.

Once my intended strike temperature was reached, I added the grist filled Brew Bag to the water and gave it a gentle stir to ensure there were no dough-balls.

A quick check revealed I’d hit my target mash temperature of 153°F/67°C.

I turned on my pump to continuously recirculate the sweet wort and pulled a small sample for a pH measurement 15 minutes into the mash rest. I was happy to see I’d hit my target mash pH.

While the enzymes were doing their thing in the mash, I weighed out my kettle hop additions.

After the 60 minute mash was complete, I removed the bag of grains and started heating the wort to a boil.

The wort was boiled for 60 minutes with hops added at the times stated in the recipe, after which I quickly chilled it before measuring the OG with my refractometer.

I racked the wort to a 3 gallon Better Bottle then placed it in my cool chamber to finish chilling to my target pitching temperature. Once at 64°F/18°C, I pitched my starter of Wyeast 1056 and set the chamber to maintain my desired fermentation temperature of 66°F/19°C. With signs of active fermentation basically absent after a week, I took a hydrometer measurement that showed the beer had reached the expected FG.

I added the dry hops and let them sit for 48 hours before cold crashing, fining with gelatin, and kegging. I burst carbonated overnight then reduced the CO2 to serving pressure where it sat for a few more days before I began serving it to participants.

| 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 rating of 9 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 18 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 Floral Floral Spicy/Herbal Spicy/Herbal Earthy/Woody Earthy/Woody

The 3 characteristics endorsed as being least prominent by participants:

Aroma Flavor Apple/Pear Dank/Catty Melon Melon Resinous Apple/Pear

Participants were asked to rate the pungency of the hop character.

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

Finally, tasters were asked to rate how much they enjoyed the hop character on a 0 to 10 scale.

My Impressions: I was pleasantly surprised by Willamette and sort of wish I had done something other than a grist of 100% Pilsner malt. I did get the floral notes, but the beer was a bit spicier than I expected with the earthy character seeming more subdued than I’d expected based on the comparison to Fuggles. To my tastes, Willamette comes across as pretty mellow, not nearly as pungent as most modern varieties, and I think it would do really well as a late addition in a darker English style. I perceived the bitterness as being fairly clean and even though it didn’t “pop” in the way some hops do, I definitely see the appeal.

| CONCLUSION |

It’s easy to see why Willamette was one of the most widely grown and used varieties in the US for so long– its a clean, mellow hop that doesn’t hang heavy on the palate. Perhaps as a function of the amount used and hopping schedule, especially the relatively large dry hop, I did pick up a bit more spicy character than I expected, which I have to believe would be toned down by less aggressive usage. While Willamette isn’t a new variety overall, it’s certainly a new one in my repertoire, one that I’ll be considering when designing future batches of Stout, Porter, and English styles where I desire more floral, earthy, and spicy hop character.

If you have any thoughts on or experiences with Willamette hops, please feel free to share them in the comments section below!

Support for The Hop Chronicles came from Yakima Valley Hops, suppliers of over 40 varieties of hops ranging from classics like Saaz and Cascade to yet-to-be-named experimental options. Offering great prices with reasonable shipping, consider Yakima Valley Hops for your next hop purchase.

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