Perle

Hop Variety

Perle

Origin

Germany

Alpha Acid %

6 – 9%

Beta Acid %

4.75%

Background

Perle is a German hop released from Huell in the Hallertauer region in 1978. Its parent hops include Norther Brewer and is a good dual purpose variety to brew with. Perle are widely used in light and medium coloured ales and Pilsners primarily for their mild yet fresh bittering and aroma qualities.

Perle is the most planted aroma variety of hop grown in Germany at present and the exact same variety of Perle is also grown in the United States but the alpha acid content is higher. It is also grown in Belgium.

Brewing Attributes

The fine attributes of Perle make it a good all round use hop or multi purpose hop. The aroma is a kind of slightly minty, green or earthy quality. It would be best described as moderate, nothing too in your face. As mentioned before it’s a general purpose hop and the bittering quality is clean and balanced.

It’s well suited to lagers and lighter beers where balance and subtlety is required and is particularly good as a bittering hop in wheat beers.

Possible Substitutions

I have seen a few substitutes suggested one of them being Tettnang, which is a hop grown in the same region but has a slightly lower alpha acid percentage. It is often used in beer styles that Perle works well in. Northern Brewer is another hop often suggested as a substitute, again it;s grown in Hallertau and the acid percentages are fairly close.

Commercial Examples

Sierra Nevada use Perle in a number of their beers, in particular their Summerfest and their Wheat are said to use them as a bittering hop.

In the UK, Scotlands Cairngorm Brewery use Perle in their beer Trade Winds and Westerham Brewery make a seasonal beer called Summer Perle http://www.westerhambrewery.co.uk/RegularBeers.htm which is dry hopped with Perle and really demonstrates the refreshing quality of the hop.