Ontario’s new mystery hop: Hop X

Nottawa, ON – A new hop varietal has been discovered, by accident, at Clear Valley Hops near the Blue Mountains.

The new varietal seems to have mutated from American-native hops planted in 2012. The varietal has since been named Hop X.

“They continued to change and again, the hops had no resemblance to anything we had,” says owner Laurie Thatcher-Craig. “As harvest came to a close, I went over and pulled some hops off to see if they were no longer of any use since they had been on the bines so long. I was stunned. Oily lupulin coated my palms and the aroma of Hawaiian fruit punch.”

Other noted aromas included mango, orange, strawberry, and lychee fruit.

Thatcher-Craig notes, “we quickly got them processed into pellets and sent samples to KAR labs in Michigan. The alpha came back at an 8, certainly not a bittering hop. I gave a sample to Jon Downing at the Niagara College Brewmaster program, who told me it did not match any of the hops from their global supply. Niagara College brewed with it and said it was definitely a dual purpose hop.”

Clear Valley attributes the successful growth of Hop X to mutation, Georgian Bay terrior, and the plantations high essential oils.

“Mutations are rare, but do occur in hops. The conditions of the 2012 drought, the uniqueness of the soil on our plantation, and the microclimate we experience there, has created something unique. No test tubes or genetic patents,” she explains.

The first commercial release with Hop X is, unexpectedly, a 6.9% craft cider from Guelph’s new Revel Cider Co. who have utilized it during its dry-hopping process.

Crrrent and upcoming Fall harvests have already been scooped up by contracts. Future availability is to be announced.