Citra is a special hop that was developed by the Hop Breeding Company in Yakima Valley, Washington in the early 2000s. It's all about the bright and bold aromas and flavors of grapefruit, lime, passionfruit, and even mango.

Vic Secret is an Australian variety (Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi) that came out in the 2010’s with clean fruity character in whirlpool or dry hop, but producing more earthy tones in the boil.

Cascade was and still is one of the most popular new world hops. Cascade was developed in the 60’s and 70’s by Oregon State Uni as part of the sponsored USDA hop breeding program. As such, access to and the ability to grow this hop is less restrictive than most of the commercially bred hop varieties.

Hops haven’t always been used to make beer. The ancient Sumerians used herbs to bitter and flavour their beer. Early European concoctions also used herbs. Some had medicinal purposes, some purely for flavouring. Today we call non hopped, herb infused beverages “Gruit”.

So what are hops, and what are they used for?