American Tettnanger (Hop), German hop growers quickly point out, is a very different hop from German Tettnanger from Tettnang. See tettnanger (hop). This is also apparent from the official U.S. Department of Agriculture listing of hop cultivars, in which U.S. Tettnanger has number USDA 21197, whereas Tettnanger-Tettnanger has numbers 21496 and 21497. American Tettnanger is a heat-treated, cultured clone of Swiss Tettnanger (UDSA 61021), a hop grown just on the other side of Lake Constance. Some believe Swiss Tettnanger to be a descendant of Tettnanger-Tettnanger; others feel that it is essentially a British imposter. The exact genealogy of American Tettnanger is in dispute, but the original plant material may have gotten mixed up, probably inadvertently, with another hop material, possibly Fuggle. Another theory suggests that the heat treatment somehow altered the hop. In any case, the characteristics of the resulting hop have more in common with Fuggle than with Tettnanger-Tettnanger. The latter has a red-striped bine, about as much beta as alpha acids, and an oil profile with a much closer resemblance to Saaz than to Fuggle. The American Tettnanger, by contrast, has a green bine without a red stripe, about half as much beta as alpha acid, and an oil profile more in line with Fuggle than Saaz. The aroma and brewing characteristics of American Tettnanger, too, are more Fuggle-like than Tettnanger-Tettnanger-like.

American Tettnanger was widely grown in Washington and Oregon during the 1980s and 1990s, mostly for Anheuser-Busch. But after this brewery curtailed purchases in 1997, acreage dropped drastically and little is currently grown. American Tettnanger has 3.5% to 8.8% alpha acids; 2.1% to 4.4% beta acids, and 24% to 31% cohumulone. Its storage stability is good, with 70% of the alpha acids remaining after 6 months at room temperature. Yields are fair to poor, however, at 1,000 to 1,300 pounds per acre.