Northern Brewer (Hop) was bred by Professor E. S. Salmon at Wye College, England, in 1934. It came from the old Canterbury Golding variety crossed with a male genotype, which in turn had Brewer’s Gold and an unnamed American male hop in its background. See brewer’s gold (hop) and golding (hop). Professor Salmon experimented extensively with native American hops in the early to mid 1900s and probably obtained high alpha traits from these crosses. Northern Brewer inherited pleasant aroma characteristics from its female and high alpha traits from its male parent. It was grown extensively in England and, in the 1940s, was taken to Belgium and later to Germany because of its high alpha potential and resistance to verticillium wilt. Germans referred to it as “Belgian hop” when it was planted in the Hallertau region, after the famous Hallertauer mittelfrueh had been devastated by verticillium wilt in the 1960s and early 1970s. See hallertau hop region and hallertauer mittelfrueh (hop). Northern Brewer matures early to medium early in the season, is moderately resistant to downy mildew, and is resistant to verticillium wilt. However, it is susceptible to powdery mildew. It has moderately high yields in Europe but produces poor yields in the United States. Its alpha acid level ranges from 9% to 12% and its beta acid level from 4% to 5%, and its cohumulone content averages about 25%. The essential oil levels are 50% to 60% myrcene, 25% humulene, and 8% caryophyllene. It does not contain farnesene. Its storage stability is above average. It is a dual-purpose hop, although most brewers use it as a bittering hop. Today, Northern Brewer has been largely replaced by higher-yielding cultivars with higher alpha acid values.