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United States

Chinook substitutes

Proven alternatives to Chinook and hops with a similar aroma profile. Pick by availability, price or country of origin.

Compare side by side

Direct substitutes

7

CTZ

USADual purpose8230

Alpha acid14.5–17%

Beta acid4.5–5.5%

Total oil2.5–4.5 mL

Black currantLicoriceCurryCitrus+2

Columbus

USADual purpose8230

Alpha acid14–18%

Beta acid4.5–6%

Total oil2.5–4.5 mL

EarthyBlack currantLicoriceCurry+6

Galena

Galena

Pale AlePilsWitbier

Alpha acid12–15.5%

Beta acid7.2–8.7%

Total oil0.9–2.1 mL

FruityPearPineappleBlack currant+5

Northern Brewer (US)

USABittering8230

IPAImperial StoutBarleywine

Alpha acid7–10%

Beta acid3–5.5%

Total oil1–2 mL

PineWoodyMintBlack currant

Nugget

Nugget

USADual purpose1983

Alpha acid9.5–16%

Beta acid3–5.8%

Total oil0.9–3.3 mL

HerbalCitrusGingerPineapple+5

Tomahawk

USADual purpose8230

Alpha acid15–17.5%

Beta acid4.5–6%

Total oil2.5–4.5 mL

CitrusBlack currantLicoriceCurry+1

Zeus

Zeus

USABittering8230

IPAImperial StoutBarleywine

Alpha acid13–17.5%

Beta acid4–6.5%

Total oil2.4–4.5 mL

Black currantLicoriceCurryPungent

How to swap it in a recipe

Bitterness scales with alpha acid times weight, so for bittering additions rescale the weight by the alpha ratio — the multiplier for each substitute is given below. For late, whirlpool and dry-hop additions dose 1:1 by weight and go by aroma instead, because alpha acids do not drive those.

Chinook → CTZ

workable match

Use 0.84× the weight for the same bitterness

alpha acids 13.25% → 15.75% · 33% aroma match

Keeps: Dank, Cannabis
Loses: Pine, Resin, Grapefruit, Spicy
Adds: Black currant, Licorice, Curry, Citrus

Chinook → Columbus

workable match

Use 0.83× the weight for the same bitterness

alpha acids 13.25% → 16% · 50% aroma match

Keeps: Spicy, Dank, Cannabis
Loses: Pine, Resin, Grapefruit
Adds: Earthy, Black currant, Licorice, Curry, Citrus, Floral, Pungent

Chinook → Galena

workable match

Use 0.96× the weight for the same bitterness

alpha acids 13.25% → 13.75% · 33% aroma match

Keeps: Grapefruit, Spicy
Loses: Pine, Resin, Dank, Cannabis
Adds: Fruity, Pear, Pineapple, Black currant, Lime, Gooseberry, Woody

Chinook → Northern Brewer (US)

last-resort match

Use 1.56× the weight for the same bitterness

alpha acids 13.25% → 8.5% · 17% aroma match

Keeps: Pine
Loses: Resin, Grapefruit, Spicy, Dank, Cannabis
Adds: Woody, Mint, Black currant

Chinook → Nugget

last-resort match

Use 1.04× the weight for the same bitterness

alpha acids 13.25% → 12.75% · 0% aroma match

Loses: Pine, Resin, Grapefruit, Spicy, Dank, Cannabis
Adds: Herbal, Citrus, Ginger, Pineapple, Geranium, Lychee, Herbal, Earthy, Coconut

Chinook → Tomahawk

last-resort match

Use 0.82× the weight for the same bitterness

alpha acids 13.25% → 16.25% · 0% aroma match

Loses: Pine, Resin, Grapefruit, Spicy, Dank, Cannabis
Adds: Citrus, Black currant, Licorice, Curry, Onion

Chinook → Zeus

last-resort match

Use 0.87× the weight for the same bitterness

alpha acids 13.25% → 15.25% · 0% aroma match

Loses: Pine, Resin, Grapefruit, Spicy, Dank, Cannabis
Adds: Black currant, Licorice, Curry, Pungent

Similar aroma profiles

1

Apollo

IPAImperial StoutBarleywine

Alpha acid15–20.5%

Beta acid5.5–8%

Total oil0.8–2.5 mL

CitrusGrapefruitOrangePine+5

How to pick a substitute

Look for similar alpha acid content (within 2%) and overlapping aroma notes. The more shared notes, the safer the swap.

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