Opal
- Variety:
- Opal
- Assignment:
- Aroma
- Genetic origin:
- US
- Direct substitutes:
- Akoya, Hüller Bitter, Smaragd
- Creative substitutes:
- Tradition, Perle, Saaz
Brief history
Opal was developed at the Hop Research Center Hüll from a cross made in 1986 and released in 2004. It forms part of the modern German aroma breeding program.
General description
Intensely spicy and herbaceous, with a distinctive soft vanilla-like note.
Brewing use
Well suited to aroma and late hopping in lagers, wheat beers, pale ales and other styles where a spicy continental character is desired.
Grow-on-Demand Programme
Our Grow-on-Demand Programme gives breweries access to American and New Zealand hop varieties that are currently produced in limited quantities in Europe.
Adapted to León
The programme is based on a nursery collection of 34 plants from European, American and New Zealand genetic backgrounds, established in León for more than five years.
Their agronomic performance has been monitored annually, providing a solid basis for assessing how each variety behaves under local growing conditions.
Production based on demand
The programme is designed to develop commercial production according to brewery requirements.
Reaching commercial scale takes approximately three years:
- Year one: propagation and establishment.
- Year two: first, limited harvest.
- Year three: larger and more stable commercial production.
This allows us to plan specific varieties in advance and adjust planted area and production volumes to expected demand.
Taking part
Interested breweries can contact us for more information. Our aim is to make difficult-to-source American and New Zealand varieties available through planned, demand-led production in León.