Introduction

I had the amazing opportunity to experiment with a test batch of Vista hops from my local homebrew shop! This is a fairly new hop to the homebrewing scene, though it was first grown in 2019. The characteristics and flavor profile of this variety are said to include white wine, honeydew melon, papaya and herbal notes.

I can say after playing around with it I am hooked, and I think you will be too.

This story is a great example of why you should develop a relationship with your LHBS and ask lots of questions! (Also bring stuff to share! This is a big deal and goes a long way in forging relationships) If I had not asked about anything new that had come in, and previously shared brews with these folks I may never have had the opportunity to test Vista hops out.

With the agreement that I could take as much of these hops as needed for a SMaSH, I would need to work to bring out all the possible layers of hop flavor and aroma contributions, and then bring back the finished beer in a few bottles so the owners could see how these hops behave.

Vista Overview

Let’s look at the data for Vista from Yakima:

According to Judy Thoet, Technical Director at the Hop Research Council (HRC), “Vista is the result of a 2006 open pollinated cross by Dr. John Henning (ARS hop geneticist at the Corvallis station) between the tetrapolid Perle female and an unknown diploid male. The resulting triploid line, Vista, was recognized early on as a vigorous plant with superior agronomic traits and unique aroma characteristics.”

(Skypeck, 2022)

I used 11.6% AA T90 pellets, meaning 90% of the hop pellet is made from green matter, and the remaining 10% comes from lupulin. Lupulin is a yellowish powder found on the glandular hairs beneath the scales of the flowers on a female hop plant.

I was definitely expecting lots of fruit after reading this passage: “it displays aromas of gooseberry, white wine, white peach, honeydew and papaya.” Steve Luke, Head Brewer and Founder of Cloudburst Brewing, winner of the 1,001–2,000 Barrels Brewery and Brewer of the Year award at the 2021 Great American Beer Festival®, commented “We used Vista in a pale ale all the way through, flavor additions in the kettle and whirlpool, and in the dry hop. I remember it having notes of Meyer lemon, ruby red grapefruit, and bright pine.”

(Skypeck, 2022)

This whole experiment started as a group test using SMaSH recipes to share different hop varieties with one another. If you live in the Triangle region of North Carolina, US, check out Holly Springs Brüsaders!

Target Recipe

Here is the recipe I created for this experiment (Note I actually upped the hop stand to one hour at 166F).

I am aiming for: massive fruit forward notes, high end of bitterness for an American Pale Ale, well rounded and balanced body.

We start with a simple SMaSH base, of 2-Row malt and Vista hops (of course). If you don’t know, a SMaSH stands for Single Malt and Single Hop. This is a fantastic way to experiment with hops and malt, because by limiting the recipe to one variety of each, you can allow the true character of hops or malt shine and not be muddled by adjuncts or hop combinations.

The big things I did here to accentuate hop flavor and aroma were an extended hop stand at 166F for 60 minutes. This results in retaining most of the hop oils rather than losing them to boil-off/evaporation. I also layered in the other hop additions at 30-, 15 and 5 minutes. I also chose to try out a new technique of dry hopping for 8 hours to severely limit grassiness, as I am not a fan of grassy beers.

A very important note, is that I used Clarity Ferm as well as ALDC to ensure the beer doesn’t suffer from chill haze, makes it less “bloaty” and where ALDC comes in, to ensure no hop creep or diacetyl is formed during fermentation.

For water, I targeted a profile with a 1.4 Sulfate to Chloride ratio, to make this balanced, yet leaning in the direction of bitter and dry. This was meant to offset the high FG I anticipated, of 1.010 – 1.012. A heft amount of Calcium and a touch of Magnesium were included for yeast health. Lastly, Sodium Chloride was on the high side to make this beer seem brighter and to accentuate hop, malt and sulfate/chloride characters.

I have found that lower pH mashes (~5.2) tend to help create a more crushable, perceivably dry beer.

Finally, the club chose to use the tried-and-true Safale S-05 yeast, which I fermented at 65F, allowing the internal temperature of the wort to reach 67F.

Results and Tasting Analysis

While this beer has only been kegged for about 5 days (notice the clarity), the hop character is strong right now and ideal for analysis. I will follow up after conditioning is complete for a comprehensive analysis!

Aroma: The aroma is led dominantly with the scent of honeydew melon and grapefruit followed by a gentle blend of pear and honey. I only detect a faint hint of grassiness, which I attribute to the short dry hop time. There are also traces of tropical citrus, with papaya making a notable appearance and a subtle spicy/herbal aroma.

Taste: The flavor profile is led by the pronounced taste of honeydew melon, complemented by tropical undertones. There are discernible notes of pear and peach, with a slight graininess to round it out. The fermentation process appears clean, and while the bitterness is forward, it is well-balanced against the malt. The finish leaves a lingering bitterness on the tongue, paired with tropical peach nuances.

Appearance: Golden with a billowing white head. Approximately 6 SRM. Hazy (due to short conditioning time).

Mouthfeel: The mouthfeel ranges from medium-low to medium, with a hint of creaminess.

Additional Observations: The beer boasts excellent head retention. I would up the dry hop addition to 3 or 4 oz next time. This pale drinks very well, and testers were more than pleased with the outcome. I would love to see how thiolized yeast paired with mash hopping would go with this variety!

Brulosophy has done a couple experiments with dry hopping time comparisons. Guess what? Tasters were unable to distinguish the difference between a beer dry hopped for 1 hour with agitation, and one dry hopped for the traditional four days! (Foster, 2017)

Evidence suggests that most hop oils can be extracted in well under 24 hours, and pushing beyond that timeframe CAN extract more oils, however you end up also extracting harsher compounds and grassy notes. It seems there is a compromise to be made and perhaps could be adjusted to increase the amount of dry hop charge used while also reducing the contact time with the beer.

I will say, from my anecdotal experience, that all beers I dry hopped prior to this had a distinct grassy flavor and aroma which I really did not like personally. But with a dry hop time of <12 hours, I am finding none of the grass and all of the fruitiness.

Conclusion

This hop will do well going up against most new world hops and can definitely hold its own against the fruit forward hop varieties. I will absolutely be using this variety again.

References

Foster, G. (2017, May 15). Dry hop length pt. 2: 1 hour with agitation vs. 4 days undisturbed exBEERiment results. Brülosophy. https://brulosophy.com/2017/05/15/dry-hop-length-pt-2-1-hour-with-agitation-vs-4-days-undisturbed-exbeeriment-results/

Skypeck, C. (2022, March 3). USDA-ARS releases new high-yielding, seedless aroma hop variety “Vista”. Brewers Association. https://www.brewersassociation.org/brewing-industry-updates/usda-ars-releases-new-high-yielding-seedless-aroma-hop-variety-vista/

Yakima Valley Hops. (n.d.). VistaHops_1400x.png [Photograph]. Yakima Valley Hops. https://yakimavalleyhops.com/products/vista-hops. Accessed August 17, 2023.