Wye College in England is known for creating a few varieties of hops, and Challenger hops is one of them. Their idea was to combine a higher-leveled alpha acid hops variety with a an aromatic one by crossing a Northern Brewer variety with a German male hop variety.
The result?
A mild to moderately intense hop known to be quite spicy. Challenger hops are great hops to buy in bulk and keep around the house since they have great storage maintaining up to 85% of alpha acids after 6 months of storage at 70 F.
This is one of the few hops many home brewers and craft brewers see as a perfect dual-purpose hop for it’s excellent aroma and levels of alpha acids.
Here’s what you need to know about these hops:
Challenger UK Hops Alpha Acid %
6.5 – 8.5 %
Challenger UK Hops Beta Acid %
3 – 4.5 %
Challenger UK Hops Oil Content
1 – 1.7 %
Challenger UK Hops Cohumulone %
20 – 25 %
This English hop is very popular for various English style beers such as Porters, Stouts, ESB (Extra Bitter Special), Bitter, Barley wine, Brown Ales and just about any English-style ale.
Some possible hops you can use to substitute this variety are US Perle Hops, German Perle Hops and Northern Brewer hops. Just note that if you substitute with German Perle hops you will be adding a fruity tone to your beer and Northern Brewer hops will give you some wild tones.
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