Discontinued Varieties

AlphAroma

A 1980s hybrid from New Zealand and considered a super alpha-aroma variety.
This variety grew very tall (25'+) and showcased extremely nice, large leaves and plentiful cones. However, after several years of trying, the cones never got larger than dime sized.  This lead to lots of work with little yield.  This variety also spread very rapidly around the crown area.  It had more disease resistance than standard New Zealand varieties, but in the end, the small cone size is what caused this variety to be removed.  

Canadian Redvine

A French-Canadian originating variety that is reported to have better brewing characteristics and flavors/aromas when grown in the Mid-Atlantic.

At MVH, this variety consistently ranked #1 in grow height, disease resistance, and yields.  It had a massive growth rate and needed aggressive monitoring and control to regulate lower growth spreading. It's disadvantages were lower AA% and a high cohumulone content that could lead to harsh bitterness.  It also boasted loose cone sets which could lead to higher than normal yield loss from mechanical harvesting as the cones are more fragile.  Lastly, this variety stored poorly at room temperatures and if not used fairly quickly, could lead to onion & garlic aromas/flavors.  Some reports stated that CRV could provide light pineapple/tropical notes to beer if used late in the boil.  However, due to lack of marketability, CRV was removed from the MVH hopyard.  

Centennial

Considered a “super Cascade”, it can have double the Alpha acid profile of Cascade.
Centennial was hoped to be a sister hop to our Cascade and after years of trying, we had to let it go.  This hop boasted wonderful AA% and strong early growth habits, but once summer hit, the plant would nearly shut down due to the higher temperatures.  Furthermore, the cones were never as big as Cascade and labor to yield ratios were not sufficient to keep this variety around. It was also more disease and pest prone than Cascade. 

Columbus 

Super high alpha acid variety that can tolerate hotter, dryer climates a little better.

Columbus grows almost identical to Challenger, but with major aroma/flavor profile differences.  It is a great bittering hop and is moderately tolerant of diseases.  It grew shorter than other varieties, but was a high producer with large tight cones, like Challenger.  Alpha acids were very high and aroma profiles were great.   Unfortunately, this variety has flooded the markets making it harder to sell.  For this reason, MVH removed Columbus from our hopyard.     

Comet

An American citrusy hop that possesses lighter, lime green leaves compared to the normal darker green of other hop plants.

Comet lasted about 3 years before disease issues began showing up regularly.   Furthermore, this variety did not have a very good yield ratio and was not very marketable.  It did boast some nice flavor and aroma profiles.  This variety was removed from the MVH hopyard due to its lack of marketability and yields.  

Fuggle

An old English variety originally selected in 1875 in England and can grow in hotter, more alkaline soils.
Fuggle was found to grow extremely poor in our hopyard.  The acidity of our soil combined with the climate created a situation where Fuggle could not thrive.  For several years, even after attempts to correct the soil, it only grew to around 6' tall max. and never produced more than a handful or two of tiny cones.  It was also very disease prone.   

Galena

An excellent bittering hop with smooth flavoring and bittering characteristics.  Blends well with other hops.
Initially, Galena showed extreme promise with excellent disease resistance, cone yields, and growth characteristics.   However, after 3 years, this variety began developing severe Downy Mildew Problems.  After consulting with other growers, it was found that some varieties, can grow well for a few years and then quickly deteriorate.  We tried several attempts to bring this variety back to its initial strength with no success.  It was for these reasons we discontinued it. 

Horizon

A high alpha acid, low cohumulone hybrid that was released in 1997. 

Horizon was a really nice hop with fairly good disease resistance.  However, it never could get taller than around 10' tall and produced small cones like AlphAroma.  It was a hard decision to make, but due to labor costs and low yields, we had to remove Horizon from the hopyard. Furthermore, we could not find anyone interested in purchasing this hop. 

Liberty

Liberty only lasted one season as it became riddled with disease by the end of the first season.  For this reason, MVH removed Liberty from the Hopyard.

Magnum

A very clean, non-harsh, German hybrid released in 1980 that has excellent, smooth bittering characteristics in many beer styles.
Magnum was similar to Galena in that it grew very well the first couple of years and then immediately plummeted.  It did appear to have fairly good disease resistance.  But, in the end, cone yields became significantly reduced and labor to yield ratio was just not feasible to keep this hop around.  Like Galena, we tried several attempts to revive it with no success.  

Mount Hood

Released in 1989, it was bred to resemble the classic German Hallertauer Mittelfrueh and Hershbrucker varieties.
This variety grew great in the early spring but plummeted during the warm summer months.  It produced small yields of tiny cones and was  an extreme magnet for leaf hoppers.  Due to these problems, we removed Mount Hood from the hopyard. 

Mulithead

A unique wild American hop with interesting aromatics and a genetic trait that allows its cones to have multiple tips.
It was thought that due to this hops wild nature and origin it would be more robust to our warmer climates and disease pressure, as well as occasional droughts.  This was completely wrong and we found the Multihead was extremely prone to Downy Mildew infection and we had to remove it from the hopyard for this reason alone.  It was also a moderate magnet to leaf hoppers.  It did produce nice amounts of decently sized cones for the short time we had it, but we could not afford the DM risk it presented in our hopyard. 

Newport

Developed in Corvallis, Oregon, it was released in 2002 as a relatively neutral high alpha bittering hop similar to Nugget and more balanced than Magnum or Galena.
This hop was similar to Multihead in that it was extremely susceptible to Downy Mildew.  It only ever got to around 10' and never produced many cones.  Those that it did produce, were small and not very aromatic.  Due to the DM problems, we had to remove this hop. 

Pacific Gem

A high alpha acid New Zealand variety with unique aromas and flavors.
We had high hopes for this variety with brewers and the uniqueness of it.   However, we never could find anyone willing to buy it.  Furthermore, it was a Downy Mildew magnet and had lots of issues with crown rot from our climate.  We were always ripping out and replacing crowns.  It did grow very tall and produced very large aromatic cones, but the constant battle trying to keep it going was too much and we had to make the hard decision to remove this variety. 

Southern Cross

A high alpha acid New Zealand variety with unique aromas and flavors.
Like Pacific Gem, this variety was prone to Downy Mildew and crown rot.  Again, we were always replacing crowns to keep it going.  It did produce nice cone yields with very aromatic lemony/citrus characteristics.  However, we could not justify the labor to yield costs and had to remove it.  We did have a local brewer who loved this variety and one day we may attempt to revisit it.  

Willamette

One of the most widely grown varieties in the U.S. and an all around standard brewing hop.  
This hop grew well throughout the season and produced moderately sized cones.  It was fairly disease resistant, but never produced more than a handful or two of cones.  Lower crown growth was easily manageable too.  Unfortunately, due to the labor to yield ration, we decided that Willamette had to be removed.

Zenith

A high alpha English hop that was bred in the 1970's at Wye College.  

Zenith was like Mount Hood in that it nearly shut down in hot weather, produced very few and little cones, and was a leaf hopper magnet.  It was an easily manageable plant around the crown area, but never got any better.  For these reason, we had to remove it from our hopyard.