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Beer has been around for ages. This is comforting in times like the present when beer consumption has lost ground and the most recent of-age drinkers appear less likely to drink at all. We can tell each other “beer isn’t going away,” and it does help to remember that human behavior goes in cycles.
And brewers have a way of adapting. It’s a safe bet that beer will continue to play a key role in the future and that it will eventually gain ground again. It’s also a safe bet that the nature of that beer will evolve.
Driving Beer Evolution
When we look back at the evolution of beer, it seems that laws and ingredients have been the biggest factors driving evolution. We’re not going to dive too deep into the law part of this, but clearly, the loosening of monopolistic laws by some U.S. states in the 1980s and ’90s opened the door for smaller breweries that were motivated to get creative. Consumers got excited about their “craft” beer, triggering two decades of solid growth and the most recent significant evolution of beer. U.S.-inspired craft beer spread to much of the world before losing momentum in 2020.
As for the ingredients factor, if we look at this most recent evolution of beer, hops have been the main story. The C Hops—Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, Columbus—fueled a first wave of American IPA growth, then Simcoe and Amarillo added more fuel to the fire, and when Citra-driven IPAs hit the market followed shortly by Mosaic, American IPA was off to the races.
Barebottle’s Bernal Heights taproom is hoppin’! Consumers have a wide range of options to choose from, with 20–30 rotating beers on tap, three to four wines, coffee, kombucha, food trucks, and more. Photo courtesy Barebottle Brewing
And Then Came Strata
All the hop varieties mentioned above are amazing hops, and we owe a lot to them for their role in helping craft breweries reach more people with a broader range of flavor profiles. While these hops aren’t going away anytime soon, it’s clear that we have ridden them hard and realized most of their potential. We need new hop-derived flavor twists that are at least as compelling to keep current beer consumers excited and to engage a broader consumer base. Brewers by far lean most heavily on Citra and Mosaic for “modern” IPA because they can singlehandedly drive consumer interest in a beer. Very few hops have ever existed that can do this so well, but just before the pandemic we introduced Strata, a new hop that drives the same sort of consumer interest but with a new set of flavors and aromas.
Many brewers have discovered what Strata can do to enhance existing flagship beers and to create a new IPA that becomes a new flagship. As our friends from Barebottle recently said in a social post, “Strata brings something to the table that Citra or Mosaic alone cannot—newness. It doesn’t taste like those hops and stands on its own in a danky, orange-juice way that is just pleasant. You don't have to search for the flavor. It just smacks you in the face.”
Their IPA, Strata Dust, has become a classic. “[It] still has enough bite to pay homage to IPAs past but fills out the juice in every way possible. Citrus leads with layers of different tropical fruit. It doesn't stray too far from nostalgic deliciousness but definitely feels different than a Citra/Mosaic bomb.”
Grand Fir cofounder and brewmaster Whitney Burnside proudly displays her World Beer Cup winnings. Photo courtesy Whitney Burnside
A Cornerstone Hop
Industry veteran Whitney Burnside, who just took home GABF Brewer & Brewery of the Year (501–1000 barrels) and three silver medals, calls Strata one of the “cornerstone hops” at Grand Fir Brewing.
“Strata is definitely one of our signature house hop varieties. We love how bright this variety is and how it boasts huge, sweet pineapple, lemon, and strawberry. Strata also plays really well with many other varieties (including New Zealand hops) and is not at all shy with its presence.”
One of Grand Fir’s beers, Lichen (a nice tie-in to the Northwest outdoor theme), has quickly become one of their flagship beers. Being from Portland ourselves, we love this beer’s tagline—"It grows on you!”
“Lichen is our house West Coast IPA, and I think what people really enjoy about it is that it has a very light malt profile, finishes dry, and is loaded with mouthwatering Strata as the main star of the hop blend.”
Steady Rolling Strata posters announce this year’s release, set to land nationwide in the United Kingdom on November 1. Photo courtesy DEYA Brewing
Strata for a Seasonal Release
DEYA Brewing in the United Kingdom is considered one of the best in their market at New England styles. They built their flagship pale, Steady Rolling Man, around Mosaic.
“Steady Rolling Man was very much designed as the standard bearer we would hold everything up to,” says DEYA founder Theo Freyne. “It formed the keystone of what DEYA is about, representing not only what we want to achieve with our beers but also philosophically with the whole brewery. Impact, consistency, reliability, and facilitating good vibes.”
After coming out for Strata selection in 2019 and tasting quite a few fresh-hopped Strata beers, the DEYA team decided to use a 100 percent Strata bill in their foundational flagship as a seasonal release.
“We feel the recipe for Steady Rolling Man is somewhat sacred. However, we thought Strata was well worthy of making an exception, and it's really interesting to be able to taste aspects of our most beloved beer in the context of a different hop variety.”
This limited release has resulted in meaningful sales. “This is one of those things that has resonated with our consumer base and has turned into a big thing. I can come out here [Indie HQ in Portland] and select the hop, knowing that all of our tanks are gonna be full of this beer that everyone wants.”
In Good Company
Beers designed completely around Strata have been hugely successful, but Strata can also bring new interest to the fantastic flavors of hops such as Citra and Mosaic. A main goal of our hop R&D efforts is to find new hop varieties that not only work very well with each other, but also with key hop varieties that have been a big part of our industry’s success over the past 15 years.
Pete Gillespie, founder and head brewer of Garage Project in New Zealand has been working with Strata for quite some time. “We’ve loved Strata from Day One, and it continues to excite,” says Gillespie. “We look for [those] lots with bright pineapple/passion fruit top notes, but I also love the cheeky sativa undertones. Strata’s found its way into a number of our core brews, mostly as a dry hop, where it delivers those awesome lifted citrus and pineapple notes.”
This special collab brew between Garage Project and Trillium features Indie Hops Strata, Audacia and Luminosa — all grown in Oregon’s Willamette Valley at Coleman Ag's Alluvial Farm. This limited release was brewed at Garage Project in New Zealand and also stateside at Trillium. Photo Credit: Garage Project
This year, Garage Project incorporated all Indie Hops varieties into their Valley Series, which showcases various hop varieties from different hop-growing regions. “We brewed the first of our Valley Series with Trillium at their Canton [Massachusetts] brewery back in 2019. All the beers in the Valley Series are based on the same core recipe, an 8 percent hazy IPA with a simple pilsner malt and wheat grist, almost no hot-side hop additions, and a heavy dry hop—perfect for showcasing hop aroma.”
This year, Garage Project once again collaborated with Trillium on a new addition to their Valley Series—Willamette Valley, which features Indie Hops Strata, Audacia, and Luminosa.
“We did a number of trials with each variety, seeing how each presented on its own as a dry hop and then combining them in different ratios. After trialling all the different permutations, the clear winner was a combination of all three. There was definitely a synergistic effect that delivered an aroma and flavour that was greater than the sum of the parts. Strata still shines with those bright top notes, but the Luminosa and Audacia bring depth and a foundational sweet fruit character that elevates the whole experience. They definitely get my vote for best supporting actors.”
A Sterling female pollinated with a German male, Lórien brings a classy combination of Old World and New to craft brewers worldwide. Photo by Indie Hops
Lórien for Lagers
Evolution of hop character isn’t limited to IPA or other “hop-driven” beers, of course. The classic European-inspired lagers are poised for a modern twist of hop character as well. A truly low alpha “lager” hop such as our recently released Lórien variety behaves like the classics but with a modern twist. While many “experienced” beer drinkers have acquired a taste for the grassy, spicy character of most classic European lager hops, many people who are more recently drawn to the beer world prefer the mixed citrus/wildflowers, fresh melon, and baker’s spice finish of Lórien in this amazing format. Once again, classic hop varieties aren’t going away, but modern versions help reach more people. It’s also worth noting that classic European varieties have struggled with the changing climate, and brewers have been faced with sourcing challenges, providing more reason to source a homegrown hop such as Lórien that’s built for lagers but with a modern twist.
Adam Cieslak is the founding brewer and CEO of Maplewood Brewery & Distillery, which is located in Chicago’s historic Logan Square neighborhood. Photo courtesy Maplewood Brewing
Adam Cieslak, founding brewer and CEO of Maplewood Brewery & Distillery in Chicago transitioned their flagship Pulaski Pils to Lórien a few years ago when he learned that the hop he was using would no longer be available.
“We used Santiam hops as the cornerstone of our Pulaski Pils for the longest time, and while we were a bit bummed to hear that it was on its way out, we were super-excited for Lórien to come to the party. Lórien has allowed us to keep floral characteristics that were integral to the beer, while adding some new and unique freshness that plays so nicely in a lighter lager—so transitioning the beer to use Lórien was a no brainer. Simply put: Lórien is amazing, and we couldn’t be happier with the results. It brings the wonderful floral tones that we love and wanted, but also provides cleansing citrus and just a touch of traditional Noble spice. It's a quite complex hop overall that lends a pleasant depth to the clean base profile of Pulaski Pils, exactly what that beer needs.”
One of Maplewood’s year-round offerings, Pulaski Pils is a 5.1 percent crisp, light-bodied lager brewed primarily with pilsner malt and a kiss of Vienna, then lightly dry-hopped with Lórien. Photo courtesy Maplewood Brewing
In Oregon, where fresh hops take over during harvest season, fresh-hopped Lórien beers took first and second place in the “Other Fresh Hop” category of the Oregon Beer Awards. In his review of the awards, Jeff Alworth wrote, “I was again really impressed with Lórien hops, this time in green form—that is just going to be a badass cultivar.”
As humanity continues to evolve, one thing we can say with almost 100 percent certainty, the desire to gather and belong and connect over one of life’s most basic pleasures—food and drink—will never go away, and craft breweries provide a wonderful “third living room” from which to ponder how to continue moving forward. From the standpoint of great beer, craft brewers are more skilled than ever and have an expanded toolbox of hop flavors to help deliver a new level of compelling options—whether for the seasoned craft enthusiast or to capture the interest of those who have yet to discover that a well-crafted beer goes just as well with friends as it does with food.
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