Saaz
Delicate, spicy and herbal. The signature of Czech pale lager and almost impossible to substitute convincingly.
Alpha acid
2.5-4.5%
2.5% - 4.5%
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
Czechia
A traditional variety with no single release date
Where it belongs
- Czech Premium Pale Lager
- Belgian Tripel
- Saison
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.
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