Hop
Barbe Rouge
A French aroma hop with a distinctive red-fruit character rare in European varieties.
Barbe Rouge is named for its red bine and produces a red-fruit aroma — strawberry and redcurrant — that almost no other European hop offers.
It is a good example of modern European breeding aiming at fruit character rather than at noble refinement, and it works particularly well in pale ales that want fruit without tropical intensity.
Aroma and flavour
Descriptors are impressions rather than analytical results. BeerHQ rates this characterisation as commonly reported.
Belongs to
Analysis
| Alpha acid | 7–10% |
|---|---|
| Purpose | aroma |
| Origin | France |
| Storage stability | unknown |
How it is used
- Late boil. Added in the last few minutes, retaining more aromatic oils while adding modest bitterness.
- Whirlpool / hop stand. Steeped below boiling after flameout. Extracts aroma and flavour with limited additional bitterness.
- Dry hop. Added after the boil, during or after fermentation. Contributes aroma and flavour with essentially no isomerised bitterness.
If you like Barbe Rouge
Hops with comparable character. Similarity and substitutability are different questions, so each entry says which it is: a hop can smell alike and still change the beer if its alpha acid is far off.
Olicana 7–10% alpha
Shares citrus, stone fruit with Barbe Rouge; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
Not the same: brings tropical fruit that Barbe Rouge does not; lacks the berry of Barbe Rouge.
Close enough in both aroma and alpha acid to swap in a recipe.
Vista 7–11% alpha
Shares berry, stone fruit with Barbe Rouge; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
Not the same: brings tropical fruit that Barbe Rouge does not; lacks the citrus of Barbe Rouge.
Close enough in both aroma and alpha acid to swap in a recipe.
Harlequin 8–11% alpha
Shares citrus, stone fruit with Barbe Rouge; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
Not the same: brings tropical fruit that Barbe Rouge does not; lacks the berry of Barbe Rouge.
Close enough in both aroma and alpha acid to swap in a recipe.
Triumph 8–12% alpha
Shares citrus, stone fruit with Barbe Rouge; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
Not the same: brings tropical fruit that Barbe Rouge does not; lacks the berry of Barbe Rouge.
Close enough in both aroma and alpha acid to swap in a recipe.
Endeavour 8–10% alpha
Shares berry, citrus with Barbe Rouge; a dual-purpose variety at a comparable alpha acid.
Not the same: brings earth and wood that Barbe Rouge does not; lacks the stone fruit of Barbe Rouge.
Close enough in both aroma and alpha acid to swap in a recipe.
Straight substitutes
Close enough in both character and alpha acid to swap at a similar weight. Substitution is directional and imperfect — these are the nearest available options, not equivalents.
- Olicana — Shares citrus, stone fruit with Barbe Rouge; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
- Vista — Shares berry, stone fruit with Barbe Rouge; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
- Harlequin — Shares citrus, stone fruit with Barbe Rouge; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
- Triumph — Shares citrus, stone fruit with Barbe Rouge; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.