Hops
Alpha acid is a range, not a number.
The same variety varies by crop year, region and storage, which is why a recipe that says “1 oz Cascade” without an alpha figure is under-specified. Brew to the number on your packet; use these ranges to plan a substitution.
Cascade
4.5-7% AAUSA · Dual
Grapefruit and floral. The hop that defined American pale ale, and still the reference point for citrus character.
Centennial
9.5-11.5% AAUSA · Dual
Cascade turned up: more citrus, more floral, and enough alpha to carry the bittering charge as well.
Citra
11-13% AAUSA · Aroma
Passionfruit, mango and lime. The dominant hop of the hazy era, and unmistakable even at small late additions.
Mosaic
11.5-13.5% AAUSA · Aroma
Blueberry, mango and a resinous edge. Complex enough to carry a single-hop beer.
Simcoe
12-14% AAUSA · Dual
Pine, passionfruit and a distinctive cat-like note some drinkers love and others cannot get past.
Chinook
12-14% AAUSA · Dual
Pine and grapefruit pith, with a hard, resinous bitterness. Assertive as a late addition.
Columbus
14-18% AAUSA · Bittering
Dank and pungent, heavy on resin. Efficient bittering, and used late it is unmistakably marijuana-adjacent.
Amarillo
8-11% AAUSA · Aroma
Orange and peach. Softer and more marmalade-like than Cascade.
Galaxy
13-15% AAAustralia · Aroma
Passionfruit and peach at very high intensity. A little goes a long way and it dominates a blend.
Nelson Sauvin
10-13% AANew Zealand · Dual
White wine, gooseberry and crushed grape. Named for its resemblance to Sauvignon Blanc, and genuinely like it.
Saaz
2.5-4.5% AACzechia · Aroma
Delicate, spicy and herbal. The signature of Czech pale lager and almost impossible to substitute convincingly.
Hallertau Mittelfrueh
3-5.5% AAGermany · Aroma
Mild, floral and slightly spicy. The classic noble hop of Bavarian lager.
Tettnanger
3.5-5.5% AAGermany · Aroma
Herbal and lightly spicy, a touch earthier than Hallertau.
Spalt
3-5% AAGermany · Aroma
Soft, woody and mildly spicy. Traditional in altbier and Franconian lager.
Magnum
12-16% AAGermany · Bittering
Almost neutral. Chosen precisely because it delivers bitterness without adding flavour of its own.
East Kent Goldings
4-6.5% AAEngland · Aroma
Honey, earth and lavender. The English aroma hop, and the reason a best bitter smells like a pub.
Fuggle
3.5-5.5% AAEngland · Aroma
Woody, minty and grassy. Older and earthier than Goldings.
Willamette
4-6% AAUSA · Aroma
An American Fuggle: mild, herbal and slightly floral.
Styrian Golding
4.5-6% AASlovenia · Aroma
Delicate and lemony despite the name; genetically a Fuggle rather than a Golding.
Sabro
12-16% AAUSA · Aroma
Coconut, tangerine and cedar. Divisive, and unlike anything else in the hop catalogue.