Is anyone familiar with the Southern Brewer hop variety?

[banjo]

Posted in Malt Q&A before Hops Q&A launch -

Southern Brewer hops

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Is anyone familiar with the Southern Brewer hop vaiety?

It is the only widely available variety in South Africa which is where I am brewing for a few months. I have not been able to find much (any) info about it in reference books or online. I can't even so much as find the Alpha Acid content. In fact the small brewery that sold me the hops didn't even know the AA% and they were brewing commercial beers with them!

Thanks for any help.

Fermenting Revolution,
Chris O'Brien

Drink Beer. Save the World.
www.beeractivist.com

Better Brew for a Better World.
www.breworganic.com
__________________
www.beeractivist.com - Drink Beer. Save the World.

[Hopunion CBS LLC]

Got the following from the USDA variety web site. This report gives a pretty detailed desription of the Southern Brewer hop. Probably gets interesting starting at the "origin" and forward. Please see description below:

SELECTION: Seedling selection from a cross of Fuggle N
(USDA 21016)-OP x Fuggle N-OP, made in South Africa by
Barry M. Robinson, hop breeder
GENUS: Humulus
SPECIES: lupulus
CULTIVAR: Southern Brewer
PEDIGREE: Fuggle N x OP backcross
PRIMARY SITE: USDA-ARS World Hop Cultivar Collection, OSU East Farm, Corvallis
ORIGIN: South African Breweries Ltd., Blanco, District ,George, South Africa
DATE RECEIVED: July 1978
METHOD RECEIVED: Rhizomes
AVAILABILITY: No restrictions, commercial variety
REFERENCES: USDA-ARS Annual Report of Hop Investigations for 1978, pp. 38-40
MATURITY: Medium to late
LEAF COLOR: Dark green
SEX: Female, occasional sterile male flowers near the top of the trellis
DISEASES: Downy Mildew: resistant
Verticillium Wilt: resistant
Viruses: unknown
VIGOR: Very good
YIELD: High, 1500-2000 lbs/acre, sometimes higher
SIDE ARM LENGTH: 20-40 inches
ALPHA ACIDS: 9.8% (5-year range: 5.6-12.0%)
BETA ACIDS: 4.4% (5-year range: 2.8-5.0%)
COHUMULONE: 40% (5-year range: 33-42%)
STORAGE STABILITY: Very good) retained 70% of original alpha acids after
6 months room temperature storage)
OIL: 0.94 ml/100 g (5-year range: 0.43-1.03)
MAJOR TRAITS: European aroma characteristics, high yield potential;
loose cones which shatter upon machine picking, especially when grown
seeded.
OTHER INFORMATION: Considered to be a high-alpha aroma hop; grown extensively in South Africa where it is the major hop variety and also in India; several African countries (Zimbabwe, Kenya) have experimented with this hop as a basis for their own hop industry although these countries are probably too close to the equator (short day length) to grow hops economically. Artificial extension of day length (100 watt bulbs spaced about 100 ft. apart above the trellis) has drastically increased cone production in areas where natural day length is too short. In 1978 about 1200 acres of Southern Brewer were grown commercially in South Africa, some under supplemental illumination. Not grown commercially in the United States.


Best Regards,

Ralph Olson
Hopunion CBS LLC
General Manager/Owner
ph. (509) 453-4792
fax (509) 453-1551
Ralph.Olson@hopunion.com