Pacific Northwest, United States
Cascade is released
The USDA breeding programme released a hop whose grapefruit-and-floral character was unlike anything in European brewing.
1972
Its ancestry is English and Eastern European — Fuggle crossed with a Russian selection — which is a good reminder that hop character is not a property of geography alone.
Why it matters
Gave American brewing a flavour identity of its own rather than a reproduction of a European one.
How well this is established
| Certainty | Documented. Supported by contemporary records that survive and are agreed on. |
|---|---|
| When | 1972. Known to the year rather than to the day. |
| Where | Pacific Northwest, United States |
Styles this shaped
Traditions
- American craft brewing — The post-1980 American movement built on intense hop character, reinterpretation of European styles, and rapid categorical change.
Either side of this
← 1971: CAMRA is founded · 1978: Homebrewing is legalised in the United States →
See the whole sequence on the beer history timeline.
Last reviewed 2026-08-16.