Exploring the Regional Identity of Cascade and Mosaic® Hops Grown at Different Locations in Oregon and Washington

Abstract

The impact of the growing environment on the aroma of agricultural products such as wine, coffee, or tea has been investigated in detail, leading to the concept of regional identity; however, there have been only limited studies examining regional variation in hops. A systematic investigation of Cascade and Mosaic® hops from the 2020 harvest year grown at 39 different locations in Oregon and Washington was performed using chemical/instrumental and human sensory analyses, which revealed significant between-state and within-state differences for both varieties, suggesting substantial regional and subregional identity effects. A subset of 14 hop samples was selected to produce standardized single-hop beers (IPA) in pilot scale. Sensory evaluation of the beers revealed similar regional-dependent results as observed for the hops with slightly stronger fruity, citrus, and tropical notes but weaker herbal, grassy, and woody notes in the beers compared to hops, suggesting that the regional identity effect was observable in beer.