The Joy of Single Hop Beers

The Kernel's Amarillo pale ale

The other night, over a bottle of Amarillo pale ale from The Kernel, I started thinking about how much I like single hop beers. They're a great way to really get to know and understand the flavour profile of a particular hop. 

The bulk of beers obviously contain a combination of hops, with each variety providing different flavours and characteristics. Some are used more for adding aroma whilst others add a grassy or resinous quality and some are used to give a big whack of citrus fruit.

Most of us are familiar at least with a few hop varieties, particularly the American hops such as Centennial, Citra, Cascade and Amarillo and new world varieties including Mouteka and Nelson Sauvin. Together they create blends of flavour, each bringing something different to the party.

But if you want to get beyond just knowing that you like hoppy beers beers and being able to name check a few varieties, drinking single hop beers is perfect. They act as platform, letting the profile of the hop really shine through. Thornbridge Kipling is a beer that really elevates the complex flavours of one variety; the beautiful New Zealand hop Nelson Sauvin. It has a grassy, fruity quality to it and a real passion fruit edge. It's a prime example of beer that lets a single hop strain steal the show.

Brewdog's 'IPA is Dead' single hop series

Oakham Ales make Citra, which (you guessed it!) contains Citra hops. it's pungent with grapfruit, lychee and gooseberry. An excellent demonstration of this brilliant hop. Throughout last year, Martson's produced a different single hop beer each month, whilst breweries such as London Fields and Brewdog have also made excellent single hop limited edition beers.

Personally I can't think of a better way to understand the nature of a hop than to drink a beer that is a platform for its own particular flavour. We now have a a huge range of different hop strains being used in British beer, so it's a great time to get to know them better.

I'd also love to see more breweries bringing out limited edition ranges of single hop beers. Brewdog produced a beer with the HBC hop which drew attention to a variety that few of us were familiar with. It would be great to see other breweries doing similar things; drawing attention to new and interesting hops and helping drinkers to understand and enjoy them.

What are your favourite single hop beers? Why not let me know.