Hop
Chinook
A powerfully resinous American hop: pine, grapefruit pith and a firm, sometimes harsh bitterness.
Chinook is the piney end of the American C-hops — grapefruit rind and resin over a distinctly spicy, almost peppery base, at a high alpha acid that makes it efficient for bittering.
It divides opinion more than its siblings. Used heavily late in the boil it can read harsh or catty; used for bittering with a lighter aroma charge it gives a clean, firm structure that the softer varieties cannot. That split is why recipes often pair it with Cascade or Centennial rather than using it alone.
Aroma and flavour
Descriptors are impressions rather than analytical results. BeerHQ rates this characterisation as well established.
Belongs to
Analysis
| Alpha acid | 12–14% |
|---|---|
| Cohumulone | 29–35% |
| Total oil | 2–3 ml/100 g |
| Purpose | dual purpose |
| Origin | United States |
| Released | 1985 |
| Storage stability | good |
How it is used
- Bittering (early boil). Added at or near the start of the boil, where long exposure isomerises alpha acids into bitterness and drives off aroma.
- Late boil. Added in the last few minutes, retaining more aromatic oils while adding modest bitterness.
- Dry hop. Added after the boil, during or after fermentation. Contributes aroma and flavour with essentially no isomerised bitterness.
If you like Chinook
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.
Simcoe 12–14% alpha · editorial
Similar pine character with a softer bitterness.
Not the same: brings tropical fruit that Chinook does not.
Close enough in both aroma and alpha acid to swap in a recipe.
Southern Cross 11–14% alpha
Shares pine and resin, citrus, earth and wood with Chinook; a dual-purpose variety at a comparable alpha acid.
Not the same: nothing in the recorded profile separates the two, which means BeerHQ cannot tell you how they differ rather than that they are interchangeable.
Close enough in both aroma and alpha acid to swap in a recipe.
Columbus 14–18% alpha · editorial
A comparable resinous high-alpha hop.
Not the same: brings allium that Chinook does not; 3 points higher in alpha acid, so a like-for-like weight swap would change the bitterness.
Smells alike, but the alpha acid differs enough that a like-for-like swap would change the bitterness.
Nugget 12–14% alpha
Shares pine and resin, earth and wood with Chinook; a bittering variety at a comparable alpha acid.
Not the same: brings herbal that Chinook does not; lacks the citrus of Chinook.
Close enough in both aroma and alpha acid to swap in a recipe.
Apollo 15–20% alpha
Shares pine and resin, citrus, earth and wood with Chinook; a bittering variety though it bitters harder.
Not the same: 5 points higher in alpha acid, so a like-for-like weight swap would change the bitterness.
Smells alike, but the alpha acid differs enough that a like-for-like swap would change the bitterness.
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.
- Simcoe — Similar pine character with a softer bitterness.
- Southern Cross — Shares pine and resin, citrus, earth and wood with Chinook; a dual-purpose variety at a comparable alpha acid.
- Nugget — Shares pine and resin, earth and wood with Chinook; a bittering variety at a comparable alpha acid.
- Galena — Shares citrus, earth and wood with Chinook; a bittering variety at a comparable alpha acid.
Used in
- American amber ale
Caramel malt depth meeting American citrus hops — the maltier counterpart to American pale ale.
- West Coast IPA
The dry, clear, aggressively bitter interpretation of American IPA, built on pine and grapefruit with the malt stripped right back.
- Double IPA
IPA scaled up: more strength, more hops and more bitterness, while staying dry enough to remain drinkable.
- Black IPA
An IPA with dark malt for colour and a light roast edge, keeping full citrus and pine hop character.
- American barley wine
A strong malt-dense ale with assertive American hop bitterness and citrus-pine aroma alongside the caramel depth.
- American stout
A bold, hop-forward stout combining strong espresso roast with American citrus and pine hop character.
Evidence
What BeerHQ knows about this, and how. Every statement carries the state of the evidence behind it rather than being presented flatly as fact.
Chinook comes from a Petham Golding crossed with a Brewer’s Gold line, and the USDA collection records it at around 13.6% alpha acids, 3.9% beta, 33% cohumulone and 1.83 ml/100 g total oil.
Checked against the source
Source: USDA-ARS World Hop Cultivar Collection, Accession 21226 (Chinook), pedigree and analysis