A chance for me to tell you about something new, Zumo
Machine House Brewery of Seattle just announced the release of a new beer brewed exclusively (single hop) with a new hop variety: Zumo Single Hop Pale. At least, Zumo is probably a new hop variety for most beer drinkers. Not many breweries have used it yet. That means Machine House is giving you a chance to try something new and also giving me a chance to tell you about a new hop variety.
Zumo Single Hop Pale is described as follows: “This one is hopped with Zumo, a new variety to us. It’s a super nice mellow Pale with bright, fresh citrus character. We brewed this with Maris Otter malt and one of our favorite fruity English yeast strains, open fermented and naturally conditioned in casks and cans.”
It’s new, and you probably have not yet tasted a beer brewed with Zumo. It’s available through Yakima Chief Hops (YCH). The word lime appears frequently if you read descriptions of beer brewed with Zumo. It’s actually the first word in YCH’s aroma description as well. However, those are just words. How a brewer uses Zumo and how the flavor profile hits a particular palate will vary.
Some of what I’ve read suggests that Zumo is well-suited for Mexican-style lagers because it provides a pop of margarita-like character. Not much pithy bitterness, but plenty of citrus, lime zest and orange aroma.
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Zumo was born and cultivated at Segal Ranch, one of the hop farms in the lower Yakima Valley. The Segal family has grown hops in the Yakima Valley, near Grandview, since the 1940s. John Segal Sr. is considered a pioneer for his work cultivating the Cascade hop variety, which was one of the very first American hops not named Cluster (read the fascinating and important history of Cluster here). Segal is also where Anchovy hops were born not too long ago, but that’s a story for another day.
Here are the official, technical details from YCH:
Aroma: Lime zest, orange, citrus. Yeah, like a lot of citrus…
Alpha Acids: 5.5-6.5%
Beta Acids: 4.0-5.0%
Total Oils: 0.5-1.0 mL / 100g
Recommended Styles: Mexican lagers, pale ales, hazies, IPAs
To learn about other recent beer releases, visit our New Beer Releases page.
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