Hop variety · 🇺🇸 US
Cascade
Grapefruit floral pine. Bred at Oregon State University, released 1972.
- Alpha acid
- 4–9 %
- Total oil
- 0.5–2 mL/100 g
- 3MH-family thiols
- Significant
- 4MMP
- Significant
- Data
- Verified
Aroma in one line
Brewers describe Cascade as grapefruit floral pine. In Hoparoma's hop notes its thiol character is filed as classic citrus. Part of its fruit character comes from bound thiol precursors; the rest rides on the oils listed below.
Brewing values
Typical ranges come from supplier datasheets and lot certificates; the median column pools 12 published sources. Oil fractions are percent of total oil.
| Measure | Typical range | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Alpha acid % | 4–9 | 6 |
| Beta acid % | 5.5–9 | – |
| Cohumulone % of alpha | 29–35 | – |
| Total oil mL/100 g | 0.5–2 | 1.2 |
| Myrcene % | 40–60 | 50 |
| Humulene % | 10–20 | 13 |
| β-Caryophyllene % | 4–10 | 5 |
| Farnesene % | 4.5–8.5 | 5 |
| β-Pinene % | 0.5–1 | 0.5 |
| Linalool % | 0.1–0.6 | 0.5 |
| Geraniol % | 0.1–0.5 | 0.2 |
Range source: YCH Cascade typical brewing values.
Thiol potential
Most of a hop's thiol aroma sits in the cone as odourless precursors bound to cysteine or glutathione; free thiols are a small fraction of the pool Gros et al. 2012 Kishimoto 2009. The tiers above summarise published precursor measurements and supplier statements for this variety. They are qualitative on purpose: Hoparoma's internal weighting is not published, and lot-to-lot variation is large.
Variety note: Terroir dominates crop year signal; PNW vs NY Cascade bound 3MH differs by about 3x.
Crop year lots
Year-specific rows come from published lot certificates of analysis. Where a lot reports only alpha and oil, the composition columns fall back to the variety's typical range, and the note says so. Rows marked carry-forward are placeholders until that harvest is analysed.
| Crop | Alpha % | Beta % | Oil mL/100 g | Myrcene % | Humulene % | Caryophyllene % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 6.9 | 7.8 | 1.85 | 45–60 | 8–16 | 4–10 |
| 2025 | 6.4 | 5.5–7 | 1.2 | 45–60 | 8–16 | 4–10 |
| 2026 | 6.4 | 5.5–7 | 1.2 | 45–60 | 8–16 | 4–10 |
- 2024 · Hop Alliance 2024 Lot 24-05 Michigan-grown Year-specific lot-level AA/BA/Coh/Oil; oil composition baseline ranges
- 2025 · Hop Alliance 2025 Lot CAS25-CLS Lot AA/Oil confirmed; BA/Coh baseline ranges; oil composition baseline ranges
- 2026 · Hop Alliance 2025 Lot (carry-forward for 2026 NH harvest not yet completed) 2026 current crop estimate based on 2025 lot, finalizes after fall harvest ~Aug-Sep 2026
Which yeast brings it out
A medium or high β-lyase strain, such as the London III family, LalBrew Pomona, or any of the thiol-forward strains, brings out the bound fraction. A clean Chico-type strain leaves it mostly bound, which is fine if you want the oil-driven character alone.
Rule of thumb only. See the yeast table for every strain's rating and the literature behind it.
In Hoparoma
Hoparoma computes how much of Cascade's aroma compounds survive your boil, whirlpool, and dry hop, and models the thiol side across yeast, hop, malt, and Phantasm together. The result is a research-based estimate of where the beer is likely to land, not a guarantee.
Free in any browser, 3 recipes a month. What the calculator does
Sources and data quality
- Data quality: Verified (verified 2026)
- Typical ranges: YCH Cascade typical brewing values
- Crop 2024: Hop Alliance 2024 Lot 24-05 Michigan-grown
- Crop 2025: Hop Alliance 2025 Lot CAS25-CLS
- Crop 2026: Hop Alliance 2025 Lot (carry-forward for 2026 NH harvest not yet completed)
- Thiol background: Gros et al. 2012, Kishimoto 2009, Takoi et al. 2009, Roland et al. 2016
- Supplier references: Yakima Chief Hops, Hop Products Australia, BarthHaas, NZ Hops, Hop Alliance
Full list with links on the sources page. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will correct the dataset in the next release. This page's tables are published under CC BY 4.0; reuse with credit and a link.