Newport information, uses, ideas, impressions?

I have been growing two first year Newports and, to my surprise, they're both already over 15 feet tall, bushy and covered in burrs. I didn't think I'd get to harvest this year, but now find myself seeking information about uses, recipes, character, etc. I've been looking through old posts and online and haven't had much luck with this particular hop. Anyone know any useful information or links? Thanks in advance, this site is an excellent resource.

This is why I encourage people to grow what they use. Treat it like a high alpha Fuggle -sort of. So either use less of it if trying to get aroma/flavor, or use it a bittering hop.

Only info i have on newport says.........Recently developed American high-alpha bittering hop. 10-17%. hope that helps some

It does help some, thank you. I learned about the possibility of hop growing close to the seasonal deadline and looked for reports about pest/mildew resistance rather than going with what I use, but I had read that the flavors were similar to fuggles, which I use often. I have read some pretty contradictory reports on these though, especially regarding AA%, and the site I bought the rhyzomes from has information on every hop under the sun, except Newport. I've heard that making a hop tea and then balancing bitterness with an addition of water can be used to approximate potency. Does anyone with experience in doing so have any useful advice? Again, thanks for the information. Retrofit: Maybe I'll do all three (bittering, flavoring, aroma... maybe even dry) to get a true impression of the character.

I'm a huge fan of SMASH. Single malt and single hop.

I think a smash is the best way a brewer can learn how a hop influences a beer and how different tricks change the nature of a beer.

My goto base beer is Maris otter, fuggle, and noddingham.

I think if Newport was dropped in at 60 you would have a classic bitter beer. Skip the 60 and you end up with something closer to a classic English bitter.

Now that you brought this up I may just brew a Newport smash and compare it to my fuggle smash- which I love and try to keep constantly available.

Cool, please let me know if you do! I have to admit that I also thought that "Newport" hops would be ideal for a New England semi-costal climate... not realizing it was named for Newport, Oregon! The plant is thriving though.

I know that Rogue has used Newport hops in some of their brews. I also plan to grow these and some Centennial next year. I love me some Fuggles and the Newport sounds interesting, so why not?

I've had an awesome experience so far; I just harvested one plant (a bit prematurely, but I wanted to make sure Irene didn't take everything) and yielded 7-8 oz dry (just bagged it & weighed actually). The smell was a bit like straw as they dried, but now that the lupulin is sticky and granulated the flavor is an intense orange; earlier in the budding they smelled of grapefruit. I have another plant that survived and will wait to harvest so I can get a better grasp on ripeness, but I couldn't be happier with the Newport so far. I have dozens of pics...any links on posting tutorials for this site?

p.s. Anodyne is a great brewery name!

Here's a great web-site for hop information. The link below goes to their "Hop Handbook". Newport is on page 22

Hop Handbook

Hope that helps!

Newport is a great variety. It was bred in Corvallis and released in 1996. It was developed with better resistance to powdery mildew to replace Galena ( the major variety used for bittering). It is high yielding (over 2200 lbs/acre) matures a bit later in the season with alphas above 13% and is used in a wide array of beers. In our propagation facility it rates in the top ten. It grows well, similar to Nuggets habit - not quite as robust as Galena.

Thanks, I appreciate the multiple sources of info! Just a few months of aging the hops and then it will be SMASH time : )

jessox80 said:

p.s. Anodyne is a great brewery name!

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Thanks! I've always thought it was a cool, and appropriate name for a brewery. Good luck with the hops!