Centennial

Centennial hops were first bred in 1974 with a cross between a Brewers Gold and Fuggle hops. Other sources mention it was a cross between Brewers Gold, Fuggle, East Kent Golding, and Bavarian hops. It was named after the Washington State Centennial Celebration, which occurred in 1989, just before it was released to the public in 1990.

Centennial is a dual-purpose hop that can be used in all hop additions throughout the brewing process.

Centennial hops are very similar to Cascade and are characterized by aromatic pine, citrus, and floral notes. It is characterized as having rounded and medium intense floral, citrus and grapefruit flavors and aromas. Other flavors of the Centennial hop include pine needles and tangerines.

Some hops just taste better together. We recently analyzed [ 1 ] hundreds of the most popular beers to find which hops are commonly paired together. We found that Simcoe , Cascade , Columbus , Amarillo , Chinook & Citra hops are commonly used alongside the Centennial hop. This is not a complete list, but should give you a good idea of what hops are commonly used together.

Centennial is also sometimes featured as a single hop in beers to highlight its unique flavors and aromas. It can be added either as a fresh hop, or via hop pellets. Some popular examples of commercial beers that use 100% Centennial hops in their recipes are Bell's Two Hearted Ale & Founders Centennial IPA .