The 2022 EU hop harvest has taken a real battering. The major limiting factor being the elongated 2022 heatwave. It’s hoped that recent rains will help to save the later-maturing regions, and help to bridge the gap. However, nothing is certain.

This year’s shortage is highlighted by German hop yields, which are expected to be 18% short of an average year. Currently the German 2022 hop harvest is 20.4% below last year’s, with 38.1 tonnes harvested as opposed to 47.8 tonnes in 2021.

NOTE: If you want to know more about the 2022 harvest, click the following link to read the report.

Hop shortages are sure to have a knock-on effect to home brewing. Commercial brewers with large contracts get the pick of the hops, with the rest flowing downstream and ever reducing in quality and often increasing in age. The German shortage is bound to make finding fresh Noble hops difficult.

I’m sure the Malt Miller, Get ‘er Brewed and the other plethora of home brew suppliers have ample stocks, but what if we do struggle to source our favourite lager hops?

Beyond Tradition

What could we, as home brewers, do to continue making lagers, if we find Noble hops hard to come by? What are the alternatives to using traditional hop varieties for making lagers? Well, here’s a list of potential suitable replacement “Noble” hop derivatives that you could use to replace your favourites.

Even if you do find Noble hops easy to source, these alternatives could add a new dimension to your usual lager recipes.

List of replacement noble hops:

1. US Sterling – Sterling is the daughter of Saaz and Cascade with some open pollination of German varieties. The spicy characteristics of the Saaz play well with the bright citrus from the Cascade. While it is primarily used as an aroma hop, it is versatile enough to work in a wide range of styles and uses.
2. Ella – An Australian Noble-style hop. Profiled as providing noble spice and floral flavours with a twist of anise (typical of southern hemisphere hops). These hops contain high alpha and oil content, which makes them economical, as you can use fewer of them and still get a punch.
3. Pacifica – Was called “Pacific Hallertau”. It’s like “Ella” but bred in NZ. This hop exhibits classic Noble-styles Saaz-like compounds, but with more punch, thanks to the local Terroir where the hops are grown.
4. Liberty – This is essentially a US version of Mittelfruh and replicates the light floral notes well. The Alpha bittering compounds are also close, so if you use Mittelfruh in your recipes, this is an easy replacement to make, with only minor modifications.
5. Citra – Who makes a Citra Lager? I hear you cry. Well, Northern Monk actually, with their Citra Lager. This wasn’t just put here for a reaction. If Nobel hops do indeed run low, you’ll need new ideas. Citra is the world’s most widely grown hop, and I’m sure it has a place in more styles of beer, other than IPAs.

Here’s something to leave you with: Try a sprinkling of Citra at flameout in your next lager/cold IPA. It could work wonders.

Maybe you have some better ideas? What are your favourite replacement hops to use?

Leave your thoughts and comments below. We love hearing your thoughts.

Fingers crossed that there’s enough noble hops to go around, and we’re not all scratching about for old stock at inflated prices until next year.

Happy brewing.