Hersbrucker
Delicately floral with a hay-like, slightly fruity edge. Very low alpha, so it is almost always a late addition.
Alpha acid
2-5%
2% - 5%
Against every variety on this site
Typical use
Aroma
Used late, in the whirlpool or as a dry hop, where the oils survive.
At 60 minutes
12 IBU
For 30 g at the mid-range alpha in a 20 litre batch at 1.050, by Tinseth
Origin
Germany
A traditional variety with no single release date
Where it belongs
- Munich Helles
- Festbier
- Weissbier
If you cannot get it
Ranked by how convincingly each one stands in. A substitution changes the beer; matching the alpha acid only matches the bitterness, not the aroma.
Buying it
Hops are perishable and alpha acid falls with warm storage. Buy vacuum-packed pellets, check the crop year and the alpha figure printed on the pack, and keep them in a freezer. A pack stored in a warm cupboard for a year can have lost a third of its bitterness, which is the usual reason a repeated recipe comes out tasting flat.
Find Hersbrucker pelletsAn affiliate search link, scoped to this variety rather than to a guessed listing.
More from Germany
Hallertau Mittelfrueh
3-5.5%Mild, floral and slightly spicy. The classic noble hop of Bavarian lager.
Tettnanger
3.5-5.5%Herbal and lightly spicy, a touch earthier than Hallertau.
Spalt
3-5%Soft, woody and mildly spicy. Traditional in altbier and Franconian lager.
Perle
6-9.5%Clean and minty with a hint of blackcurrant. A German workhorse that can bitter and finish the same beer.
Hallertau Tradition
5-7%A modern, mildew-resistant Hallertau: the same floral and herbal profile with more alpha and a more reliable crop.
Herkules
12-17%The German high-alpha standard: clean, faintly spicy, and grown specifically so brewers stop importing bittering hops.