Hops

Beer hopping

Hops were not always one of the cornerstones for beer brewing. Before hops, brewers used all sorts of other things to spice up the drink - heather, wormwood to mention a few.

Hops for beer making have been grown commercially since the early middle ages and it all started in Germany. It later spread to the UK with the flemish merchants.

Bulldog Brews hop pellets

Buldog has a large range of interesting hop pellet types for beer brewing. All our pellets are of the T90 type. We have the following type of packs:

12 grammes, packed in teabag which is sealed hermetically inside a barrier foil bag using nitrogen flush packaging.
100 grammes, packed in light vacuum and nitrogen flushed for extreme shelf life. When you have opened the bag, you can squeeze out the air and reseal it with the "ziplock". Store cool for use next time. We use metal layer bags for maximum oxygen barrier.
5-20 kg vacuum packed, for microbreweries and other large users.

Note that it is not the vacuum that protects our hops, it is the inert nitrogen athmosphere in the bag. We first inject nitrogen in the bag, then we remove most of it, but not all in a light vacuum, nitrogen flush pack. This method is better at protecting the hops in the bag, than just vacuum alone.

American hops

American hops brings to mind styles such as APA, IPA and DIPA. One of the original craft types of American hops is Cascade, developed in the 1950's which later opened up for many new citrusy types such as Centennial, Chinook and Simcoe.

Flavours such as Citrus, pine and tropical fruit are dominating in the American hops and with their high alpha acid content, they are also well suited as bittering hops.

English hops

English hops are often characterised by low alpha acid content and known for their herbal, flowery and fruity taste. Most of the English types are well suited for Bitters, Porters, Stouts and Brown Ales but can also be used in the American corresponding types.

French hops

French hop types are not as many as the American or English types. As Alsace was once German, this is the most common place to find the French hops growing. One of the most popular is Strisselspalt, often used in Saison and other Belgian light beers.

Czech hops

Saaz is one of the most popular hops from the Czech Republic and indeed one of the most popular types from anywhere. This is one of the noble types. Czech hops are commonly used in lagers and Saaz is one of the hops used for the famous Pilsner Urquell.

Australian hops

In the southern hemisphere, hops grow mainly in Australia and New Zealand. Down under, hops have characteristics similar to the American varieties. Often high in alpha and often with aromas of pine and tropical fruit.

New Zealand hops

The New Zealand hops differ a little from the neighbours in Australia. NZ hops often gets a character of white wine. High alpha dominating here as well but there are also NZ versions of the European types.