Pre-Prohibition American Hops?

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I've searched all over and can fix little information on which hops available today would be historically accurate to use in a pre-prohibition American IPA.

All I've found for this time period in America is cluster cluster cluster cluster cluster cluster cluster cluster.... We're there no other American grown hops used during pre 1900 in America?
 
Needle in a haystack, I know. But there has been a few threads along this same note. And there a handful of recipes citing "pre-prohibition" recipes.

I do know there was at least one thread where the author put in great effort in tracking down historical cultivation and, IIRC, there was a very narrow selection.

Search all pre- and prohibition threads and you'll find some of what you are looking for.
 
I've searched all over and can fix little information on which hops available today would be historically accurate to use in a pre-prohibition American IPA.

All I've found for this time period in America is cluster cluster cluster cluster cluster cluster cluster cluster.... We're there no other American grown hops used during pre 1900 in America?

http://www.americanhopmuseum.org/home.htm

10 seconds on google later...

But no seriously, you have to understand the context of the time. There was no such thing as an American IPA pre-prohibition. So there is no historically accurate way to make it.

You're talking about the height of the industrial revolution when mass-market products were everything.

Beer styles, as we know them today, are also basically an invention of the 1980's. At the turn of the century they had "light lager" "dark lager" and maybe the occasional porter, bock, or steam beer being made by english and german immigrants. The IPA has a muddled and confusing history and the style has varied greatly since it's beginning sometime in the mid 1800's. The history of American beer is that we like it light.

The first American hop variety is cluster, and that was planted in the 1890's.

So in the 30 year window between that and prohibition, there probably wasn't a ton of development in varieties.
 
No kiddin on the needle in haystack. I've been at it since yesterday and have found little no confirmations on anything other than cluster. Most historical recipes use general terms like "old", "new", "New York", "pacific" when referring to hops.

At this point I'll gladly accept the classic "Here's your thread. Use the search button" shaming
 

I've come across that link multiple times. I was never able to get any information on dates or first American usage of the hop types from that site. I think it's a fairly new site not fully written yet.

Like I said I've been researching pre-prohibition pale ales and IPAs for the last day so I'm aware they hardly existed. I'm not lookin for a lesson on IPA history, I'm looking for pre-prohibition American grown hop use.

There were a few IPAs brewed during this time. But I'm not going for true accuracy or recreating. It's more of a given the ingredients and techniques of the time, how would I make an IPA? I've settled on ~70% 6row, ~16% corn, ~14% dextrose. I'm just not liking what I'm reading about single hop Cluster and checking my options.
 
Most were imported into America at that time. Noble hops tend to be the most common thing found in most pre prohibition beers.
 
Most of the recipes I've seen don't even mention hop varieties. They just say use hops (and occasionally spruce tips and rosemary).

From a recipe published in an 1818 book:

Excellent Hop Beer
For a half barrel of beer take half a pound of hops and half a gallon of molasses; the latter must be poured by itself into the cask. Boil the hops, adding to them a teacupfull of powdered ginger, in about a pail-full and a half of water, that is, a quantity sufficient to extract the virtue of the hops. When sufficiently brewed, put it up warm into the cask, shaking it well in order to mix it with the molasses. Then fill it up with water quite to the bung, which must be left open to allow it to work. You must be careful to keep it constantly filled up with water whenever it works over. When sufficiently wrought to be bottled, put about a spoonfull of molasses into each bottle.


So, not even a malt based beer... Other recipes in the book are malt based, but aren't much more specific.
 
I'd say Cluster and a little Saaz or Hallertau.

I brewed a hoppy cream ale a couple of years ago with Cluster hops for bittering and just a little Willamette at the end. The hydrometer sample was wonderful, but that was the batch from the broken carboy so I didn't get to taste it finished. :(
 
Gargoyle and Ivanhoe are old varieties that have been brought back by a farm in California. I believe they are related or had cluster as early parentage.

so yea cluster.
 
Most were imported into America at that time. Noble hops tend to be the most common thing found in most pre prohibition beers.

That would make sense. Almost like today, use local grain and water and order hops from the place you get the right variety for the best price.

For an IPA or English style ale EKG or some type of golding would have been available before prohibition.
 
I've come across that link multiple times. I was never able to get any information on dates or first American usage of the hop types from that site. I think it's a fairly new site not fully written yet.

http://guides.library.oregonstate.edu/c.php?g=485695&p=3323811

This is likely something you haven't seen

https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/handle/1957/49816

Difficult to read, but this is when intentional hop breeding started in the U.S. So I think this is your best bet for figuring out what existed prior to that time. This is the report of a botanist studying the spread of mildew on hops across Oregon and Washington. He talks a lot about historical hops in the region, and this report is dated 1930-1931, 2 years before prohibition was repealed.

He makes mention of "hops growing in yards" suggesting that most hops were just whatever people had growing around, and were mostly imported german and english varieties, fuggels, hallertau, 'english clusters' and 'early clusters' both of which are capitalized, making me believe they are referring to varieties.

He also mentions both a Welsh and Hungarian hops too, and Clusters are divided into 3 varieties: english, early, and late.

EDIT: Just found this.

"Stephen Sneed, age 89 years of age. He came to this country at the age of 25 (1867) from Sussex, Kent, England. He grew hops for a few years in Wisconsin and then came to Oregon. He has grown six varieties - English Clusters, Prolific, German Grape, Jones and Cobbs. He said that the English Clusters and Fuggels were the best. The German Grape was fair."

" Next visited J.R. Cartwright at Harrisburg. He has 130 acres of hops, mostly English Clusters. They did not take care of the yards this year, and consequently picked only about 25,000 pounds off of the 130 acres. He was very familiar with Mr. Sneed, and knew of the varieties which Mr. Sneed grew. In the order of earliness he listed them Hobbs, Prolific, Fuggels, German Grape, Jones Cluster, and English Cluster. He also stated that the Wells Seedling or Red Vine, was the first hop grown in this country."

I transcribed these exactly, so the inconsistencies in names are the author's, not mine.
 
Adding to what I found above

"On September 19 the greater part of the day was spent at the Linn and Linn ranch, near Albany. Seed and roots were collected. They have forty-sox acres of hops of all four varieties, English Cluster, Fuggels, Late Clusters, and Canadian Reds. Mr. James Linn, owner of the Marion Hotel, stated that he was responsible for the Early Cluster variety. He says that he found two plants in 1908 growing in the English Cluster variety. The roots of these plants were dug and planted on the ranch of Mr. McKee, at Jefferson. [...] are very enthusiastic about the Early Cluster variety, stating that it yields more than the Fuggles and makes a hop which is in a little more demand than the Fuggles, which is bought only be English buyers for making stout. They state that they intend to quit growing the Fuggels variety because it yields so little, not one-half of the yield of other varieties. [...] Canadian Red variety.. makes a fair quality hop altho the odor is a little strong."
 
"The four varieties of hops grown on a commercial scale in Oregon are English Clusters, Early Clusters, Fuggles, and Canadian Red Vines. The first mentioned variety is the most common one and is the general late hop. It appears to have a special demand in foreign markets and is classed by Professor Salmon as a different species of hops than those grown in England. [...] The Early Cluster variety is supposed to have originated about twenty years ago [1910] as a mutant in a field of the English Clusters."
 
Finally, just a cool picture of a hops drying kiln

Hops Kiln.jpeg
 
You aren't finding much information on this because there isn't a whole lot of 'hard' recorded facts in this regard. You will get various readings or minutes recorded during a beer meeting from 1900 but not much else.

I have a really good BYO magazine that focuses specifically on this and gives a recipe for making a pre-prohibition beer. Obviously it is not proven fact so take it for what it's worth.

It mentions Saaz, Spalt, Hallertauer, Fuggles, and Styrian Goldings.

Hope this helps you a bit.
 
You aren't finding much information on this because there isn't a whole lot of 'hard' recorded facts in this regard. You will get various readings or minutes recorded during a beer meeting from 1900 but not much else.

I have a really good BYO magazine that focuses specifically on this and gives a recipe for making a pre-prohibition beer. Obviously it is not proven fact so take it for what it's worth.

It mentions Saaz, Spalt, Hallertauer, Fuggles, and Styrian Goldings.

Hope this helps you a bit.


All the info I posted above was from one primary source among hundreds. I recommend checking university archives in areas where hops have been grown. Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin, Virginia, etc. and don't look for "beer recipes" look for agricultural records, maltsters shipping ledgers, tax records, things like that to find out what ingredients were available.

There were no beer styles back then, there was just beer made from the ingredients available. So if you know the ingredients, you can figure out the gist of the beers.
 
There were no beer styles back then, there was just beer made from the ingredients available. So if you know the ingredients, you can figure out the gist of the beers.

Not really correct...
I have a recipe book from 1831 that clearly outlines various styles. Among them:
London porter
Brown Stout
London Ale
Various "Small Beers"
It splits up Ringwood, Burton, Essex, Nottingham, Windsor, barnstable, Welch, and an Edinburgh Ale.

Hops wise, this book mentions: Farnham, Kent, Sussex, and Worchestershire hops. And says they are preferred in that order.
At another point it calls for "brown hops".
 
Not really correct...

I have a recipe book from 1831 that clearly outlines various styles. Among them:

London porter

Brown Stout

London Ale

Various "Small Beers"

It splits up Ringwood, Burton, Essex, Nottingham, Windsor, barnstable, Welch, and an Edinburgh Ale.



Hops wise, this book mentions: Farnham, Kent, Sussex, and Worchestershire hops. And says they are preferred in that order.

At another point it calls for "brown hops".


I guess what I mean to say is that styles were not clearly defined like they are today. There were types of beer that certain regions were famous for though.

Let's use the example of London porters. In 1831 porters were made entirely with brown malt that had been kilned over a wood fire. These were brown, low alcohol drinks with a hint of smoke and were nothing like today's examples. What we would call an amber ale, had it been made in London, would have been called a porter, just as a modern porter also made in london would.

Styles were fluid, and more defined by the region, the ingredients, and the traditions than any true "style definition"
 
These are calling for amber malt, pale malt, and brown malt. Some even go so far as to specify pale malts from specific places.
 
There were probably several different varieties of original wild American hops. There is Neomexicanus, which still grows wild in New Mexico. A few variations of Neomexicanus are being cultivated in small quantities. One of the more popular versions is Medussa. Here in my area of California, there is a nice variety now called Magrath hops. It was found growing on an old 1800's ranch by Luke Taylor of Corrolitas Brewing Co. The Magrath ranch was one of the last hop fields in the area. This hop is gradually being re-established on the ranch.
 
Not really correct...
I have a recipe book from 1831 that clearly outlines various styles. Among them:
London porter
Brown Stout
London Ale
Various "Small Beers"
It splits up Ringwood, Burton, Essex, Nottingham, Windsor, barnstable, Welch, and an Edinburgh Ale.

Hops wise, this book mentions: Farnham, Kent, Sussex, and Worchestershire hops. And says they are preferred in that order.
At another point it calls for "brown hops".

That seems heavily borrowed from the English tradition. Doesn't even mention cream ales. Eurocentric texts from this time period or any time period are dubious at best.
 
That seems heavily borrowed from the English tradition. Doesn't even mention cream ales. Eurocentric texts from this time period or any time period are dubious at best.


That's because cream ale wasn't invented until the 1880's and the book is from the 1830's.

I don't question the validity of the recipes that the book has at all, I just think it's important to view them through the context of the time. My point is just that When someone from 1830 says "London porter" they picture a different beer and a wider variety of beers than we do today because beer styles weren't formalized until the 1980's.
 
These are calling for amber malt, pale malt, and brown malt. Some even go so far as to specify pale malts from specific places.


Is the book written by a specific brewery? What is the context? I have no doubt that there were very specific recipes called London porter, etc. I do doubt that they were invented to match a style, but rather the style was defined by the various methods of making a dark robust beer in London (and there were many).
 
That's because cream ale wasn't invented until the 1880's and the book is from the 1830's.

I don't question the validity of the recipes that the book has at all, I just think it's important to view them through the context of the time. My point is just that When someone from 1830 says "London porter" they picture a different beer and a wider variety of beers than we do today because beer styles weren't formalized until the 1980's.

You are mentioning a book from the 1830's. Recipes/hops changed from 1830 up to 1920. That is nearly 100 years.

Like I mentioned in an early posting. Common hop usage around 1900 or so for American made beers were, Saaz, Hallertau, Spalt, Fuggles and Styrian Golding.

Guess it depends on what era he really is looking for.
 
You are mentioning a book from the 1830's. Recipes/hops changed from 1830 up to 1920. That is nearly 100 years.



Like I mentioned in an early posting. Common hop usage around 1900 or so for American made beers were, Saaz, Hallertau, Spalt, Fuggles and Styrian Golding.



Guess it depends on what era he really is looking for.


Go back and read my posts from the primary source. It was from 1930 not 1830 and your hops listed aren't correct except for Fuggles. I posted a link to the source as well.

Hops changed very little from 1900-1930 due to prohibition and he makes historical references to what hops were available (according to the farmers that grew them) from between 1867 to 1908.

I doubt you'll find a better record of the aggregate hops growing of the US than that report.

The 1830's reference was about a recipe book that someone else had.
 
That's because cream ale wasn't invented until the 1880's and the book is from the 1830's.

I don't question the validity of the recipes that the book has at all, I just think it's important to view them through the context of the time. My point is just that When someone from 1830 says "London porter" they picture a different beer and a wider variety of beers than we do today because beer styles weren't formalized until the 1980's.

I have curry cuisine cook book does that mean it's popular in the US right now? I doubt it . For Most of the recipes I have to use substitutions.

Six row and corn have a long history in the US, and were widely available, the hops, I don't know.
 
I have curry cuisine cook book does that mean it's popular in the US right now? I doubt it . For Most of the recipes I have to use substitutions.



Six row and corn have a long history in the US, and were widely available, the hops, I don't know.


I'm really not sure what point you're trying to make here. I never argued that cream ale was not a historic American beer style. Just that it's hard to mention something that doesn't exist yet.

Is your argument that a recipe book from 1830 which lists only old world beers, has little bearing on what hops were available in the US at the time?

Then I mostly agree with you.

If you're saying that the recipe book is proof of well defined beer styles, then I mostly disagree until the owner of the book posts some more context that shows similar recipes to be categorized into styles, instead of a single recipe simply being called "London porter" by the brewery that wrote that particular recipe. Does that make any sense?
 
I'm really not sure what point you're trying to make here. I never argued that cream ale was not a historic American beer style. Just that it's hard to mention something that doesn't exist yet.

Is your argument that a recipe book from 1830 which lists only old world beers, has little bearing on what hops were available in the US at the time?

Then I mostly agree with you.

If you're saying that the recipe book is proof of well defined beer styles, then I mostly disagree until the owner of the book posts some more context that shows similar recipes to be categorized into styles, instead of a single recipe simply being called "London porter" by the brewery that wrote that particular recipe. Does that make any sense?

I have an ethnobotany book, which lists the various plants used as beverages by Native Americans, probably more useful IMO. I'll look up what it has to say about hops.
 
I have an ethnobotany book, which lists the various plants used as beverages by Native Americans, probably more useful IMO. I'll look up what it has to say about hops.

Yeah I'd love to see!

The report I was quoting earlier is pretty definitive though. He was a PhD Botanist at the University of Oregon collaborating with Washington State University on figuring which hops were resistant to mildew. These two universities were at the leading edge of hops at the time. So he went through and categorized all of the hops varieties available in the largest hop producing region in the US, 2 years before prohibition ended. He also included several anecdotes from hop farmers about their past activities indicating that what he saw in 1930 was typical of what was available for at least the previous 40 years.

English Cluster, Early Cluster, Late Cluster, Fuggles, and Canadian Red Vine
 
Go back and read my posts from the primary source. It was from 1930 not 1830 and your hops listed aren't correct except for Fuggles. I posted a link to the source as well.

So no chance whatsoever that the US got imported hops? 100% of the hops used then were all home grown?

Is that what you are saying?
 
So no chance whatsoever that the US got imported hops? 100% of the hops used then were all home grown?



Is that what you are saying?


Not at all, but the OP asked for American hops, and even back then, the Willamette valley was responsible for a large amount of the hops grown worldwide. We were exporting more than importing according to the report. Especially to England. And during prohibition we were absolutely not importing any hops since we had no use for them. So it stands to reason that US hop growers started exporting the hops that they had already been growing all along and performed well in the U.S..
 
Yeah I'd love to see!

The report I was quoting earlier is pretty definitive though. He was a PhD Botanist at the University of Oregon collaborating with Washington State University on figuring which hops were resistant to mildew. These two universities were at the leading edge of hops at the time. So he went through and categorized all of the hops varieties available in the largest hop producing region in the US, 2 years before prohibition ended. He also included several anecdotes from hop farmers about their past activities indicating that what he saw in 1930 was typical of what was available for at least the previous 40 years.

English Cluster, Early Cluster, Late Cluster, Fuggles, and Canadian Red Vine

It just mentioned the varieties/species already stated. Interestingly enough the scientific name barley is alphabetically right next to the scientific name for hops, and there were several species of barley that were cultivated and or harvested by the natives.
 
I've searched all over and can fix little information on which hops available today would be historically accurate to use in a pre-prohibition American IPA.

All I've found for this time period in America is cluster cluster cluster cluster cluster cluster cluster cluster.... We're there no other American grown hops used during pre 1900 in America?
Hey I have found feral hops outside old hop growing fields that date to 1915 .I am currently working on expanding my root stock from 3 plants this year to hopefully 20 or more next spring
 
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