Fresh-hopped IPA from Breakside Brewery, Sept. 14, 2023. Video screen grab.
Jeff Kastner / OPB
Nearly every commercial hop grown in the U.S. comes from Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, and the United States accounts for nearly half the hops grown in the world. In the 1950s, a variety called Cluster was the dominant hop grown in the U.S. It was considered inferior, however, so most breweries imported European varieties to add delicate flavors and aromas to their beers. Growers had tried planting European hops in Oregon, but they didn’t taste the same when grown in Oregon, so the U.S. Department of Agriculture initiated a program to develop new types that would grow in the Pacific Northwest.
The first hop to come out of this program debuted in 1968, and researchers named it Cascade for Oregon’s signature mountain range. Cascades and the American-bred varieties that followed are now the most prized hops in the world, but that wasn’t true as recently as when Cascades were introduced. That’s because Cascade produced flavors that were anything but delicate.
Portland-based freelance writer Jeff Alworth brings us the story of how Oregon hops changed IPAs, almost by accident.
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