One Brewer’s Terpene Tasting Notes

Just as hops of the same variety can smell different from one another, the flavors and aromas of terpenes can vary, too. Here, Brandon Capps provides a breakdown of each hop terpene he’s used so far at New Image:

GALAXY

“Terpene extraction brings out a lot of the bold tropical-fruit character that many love from Galaxy. In my opinion, it also brings out a lot more of the dank and vegetal characteristics that are usually a little more balanced in Galaxy. If you like big dank, almost marijuana-like intensity combined with bold fruit, this is a good candidate.”

NELSON

“The usual notes of tropical fruit, grape, and melon are present. The diesel character is also enhanced quite a bit, relative to the typical balance from dry hopping.”

STRATA

“This is one of my favorites for terpenes. The aroma is like fresh strawberries, and it’s so clean and pure. Little to no intense dank or vegetal qualities—just gobs of stone fruit.”

MOSAIC

“As Mosaic tends to be a pretty variable varietal, the results are going to depend heavily on the lot that was extracted. We select a very fruit-forward Mosaic with very little vegetal character, so the terpenes we’ve used tend to lean heavily in the bright citrus and sweet tropical-fruit direction.”

CITRA

“Typical bold notes of citrus and tropical fruit are present but come alongside some very enhanced aromas of the sort of catty character Citra was known more for a decade or so ago. This can be good if you like more of those intense characteristics but very different from typical Citra dry hopping.”

IDAHO 7

“Very intense, sweet, red stone-fruit character. Little to no intense acidic or vegetal qualities.”

IDAHO GEM

“Somehow both bold and subtle at the same time. Melon, peach, grape, and tropical fruit are all floating around in there. Mellows well into lighter bases but stands up strong in big IPAS, too.”