As you might expect, we’re a big fan of hops. Jay Brooks has a very interesting story about the “birth” of a new hop variety: Bravo.

Over the subsequent three years the hops were grown, sampled, tested and analyzed on a variety of factors. These tests confirmed that the new hop had good resistance to disease, along with exceptionally high yield and high alpha-acids percentages. The hops were harvested and processed into 200 lb. bales, which were tested using the ASBC (American Society of Brewing Chemists) spectrophotometric method and showed “average alpha-acids level of 17.5% and beta-acids level of 3.5%.” The alphas were almost exactly the same as Mom (Zeus) but with much less loss of alpha-acids in storage, a good sign.

It hasn’t been used in any commercial beers yet, but should be soon. Drake’s Brewing in San Leandro, California recently had a festival featuring nearly two dozen beers all made with the same hop, but different malts and yeasts.