Galena Hops: The First American High-Alpha Hop Variety

History of Galena Hops

Galena is well known across the brewing world as a reliable, clean-bittering, high alpha hop. In his book How To Brew, John Palmer calls it “the most widely used commercial bittering hop in the United States.” An impressive resume statement and one that’s backed by Galena’s close to three decade run as a golden child for the brewing industry.

Galena was born out of search for a higher alpha acid hop that would do well in the United States. Before Galena and other higher alpha hops, like Nugget came along, Cluster and a couple of U.K. varieties were the go-to hops for the American beer industry.

In 1968, Dr. Richard R. Romanko, working in Idaho as part of the USDA hop breeding program, selected and started testing a hop bred from a female Brewer’s Gold via open pollination. Galena would find its way into the market in 1978 after ten years of testing.

Galena made it onto the scene just as a world-wide hop shortage hit in 1980, and farmers scrambled for the newly available rootstock. This, no doubt, played at least some small part in the hop’s popularity.

Brewer’s across the industry started using Galena. It is still used by some of the biggest breweries in the country and is said to be the only hop used in Corona Extra. It soon replaced Cluster as the reigning king of American hops.

This popularity brought about the creation of other varieties. In one particular case, Miller Brewing Company specifically requested a backup variety be produced, just in case something happened to the Galena crop. The Newport variety was the result of this request.

Galena fired the gun and started the race that continues today toward ever higher alpha acid varieties (though the race has seen some tapering off in recent years as more attention is paid to aroma varieties), but it wasn’t perfect. It is susceptible to some diseases and fungi and its yield could be higher.

To rectify some of these downfalls it was used in a new breeding program in 1998 that would ultimately result in the release of the Super Galena variety in 2006. The appearance of this offspring would usher in the slow decline of Galena as acreage was replaced with this disease resistant, higher yielding, and stronger variety.

How to Grow, Store & Brew With Galena Hops

Galena rootstock is available to purchase. If you plan on growing hops in your backyard, we would make a few recommendations to help you in your endeavors. Before you choose the variety you want to grow, it is a good idea to talk to other local growers or possibly someone at your local homebrew supply store. They may be able to point you toward varieties that grow well in your area.

General Characteristics:

• Climate — Does well in temperate zones including high desert
• Growth Rate — May be hard to establish, but once established growth rate is very good
• Yield — Moderate, 1600-2000 lbs/acre
• Cones — Compact, plump, and medium sized
• Maturity — Early to Mid-Season
• Susceptible to — Powdery Mildew, Prunus necrotic ring-spot virus, aphids
• Resistant to — Downy Mildew, Vertricillium Wilt
• Ease of Harvest — Good
• Storage — Very good stability. Maintains 75% to 85% of alpha acids after 6 months at 68°F.

Sensory Description:

Galena can impart aroma’s of sweet fruit such as peaches and pears; citrus elements like grapefruit, lime, and pineapple. Other aromas may include some spicy woodiness, blackcurrant (catty), and gooseberry. Its bitterness is considered clean and mellow.

Use:

Gelena is most often used for general purpose bittering. It presents a clean, sometimes considered “mellow” bitterness. Like the clean bittering Magnum hop, it works well as the base bittering palate for other more flavorful and aromatic hops.

It is rarely used as a later addition hop because, according to some brewers, its use closer to the end of the boil tends to bring out too much blackcurrant — a nicer way to say catty. Another thing to keep in mind, is that at too large an addition the bitterness from this variety can turn rather harsh.

Can Substitute With/For These Hops:

• Columbus
• Brewer’s Gold
• Nugget

Common Beer Styles Using Galena Hops:

• English Style Ales
• India Pale Ales
• American Pale Ale
• Stouts
• Barley Wines
• Brown Ales
• Porters
• American Wheat
• Golden Ales

Commercial Examples:

To help you gain a better idea of this hop’s aroma and flavor, I would recommend you sample as many of these as you can find. This “research” will deepen your understanding of how Galena works in different beer styles and give you a better idea of how to use it in your own homebrewing.

Uses Only Galena Hops:

• Steamer Glide Stout from Diamond Knot Brewing Company
• Jive Espresso Stout from Two Beers Brewing Company
• Crooked Belgian Wit from Two Beers Brewing Company

Uses Galena With Other Hop Varieties:

• Nitro Chocolate Stout from Tröegs Brewing Company — Also uses Simcoe and Warrior
• El Kabong from Du Claw Brewing Company — Also uses Mosaic
• Gubna from Oskar Blues Brewing Company — Also uses Columbus and Sorachi Ace
• Tongue Buckler from Ballast Point — Also uses Chinook and Magnum
• Bitch Creek from Grand Teton Brewing Company — Also uses Chinook and Centennial
• Cold Hearted Killer from Bad Tom Smith Brewing Company — Also uses Hallertau (Note: several of their other beers also use Galena)
• Tokyo from Brew Dog Brewing Company — Also uses Chinook and First Gold
• Luna Sea from Empyrean Brewing Company — Also uses Cluster
• Diamond Knot IPA from Diamond Knot Brewing Company — Also uses Columbus (Note: a large number of their other beer makes use of Galena hops, too)