Hop
Cluster
The historic American workhorse hop, dominant before the craft era — floral and pungent with a distinctive earthy edge.
Cluster was for most of the twentieth century the main American hop, and is what pre-Prohibition American lager was hopped with. It is a landrace of uncertain origin, probably arising from crosses between imported European stock and wild North American hops.
Aroma and flavour
Descriptors are impressions rather than analytical results. BeerHQ rates this characterisation as commonly reported.
Belongs to
Analysis
| Alpha acid | 6–9% |
|---|---|
| Cohumulone | 36–42% |
| Purpose | dual purpose |
| Origin | United States |
| Storage stability | excellent |
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.
If you like Cluster
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.
First Gold 7–9% alpha
Shares floral, earth and wood, citrus with Cluster; 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.
Ahtanum 4–7% alpha
Shares floral, earth and wood, citrus with Cluster; an aroma 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.
Smells alike, but the alpha acid differs enough that a like-for-like swap would change the bitterness.
Brewer's Gold 6–9% alpha
Both lead with earth and wood; a dual-purpose variety at a comparable alpha acid.
Not the same: brings berry and noble spice that Cluster does not; lacks the floral and citrus of Cluster.
Close enough in both aroma and alpha acid to swap in a recipe.
Whitbread Golding Variety 5–8% alpha
Shares floral, earth and wood with Cluster; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
Not the same: brings stone fruit that Cluster does not; lacks the citrus of Cluster.
Close enough in both aroma and alpha acid to swap in a recipe.
Taiheke 6–9% alpha
Shares floral, citrus with Cluster; a dual-purpose variety at a comparable alpha acid.
Not the same: brings tropical fruit that Cluster does not; lacks the earth and wood of Cluster.
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.
- First Gold — Shares floral, earth and wood, citrus with Cluster; a dual-purpose variety at a comparable alpha acid.
- Brewer's Gold — Both lead with earth and wood; a dual-purpose variety at a comparable alpha acid.
- Whitbread Golding Variety — Shares floral, earth and wood with Cluster; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
- Taiheke — Shares floral, citrus with Cluster; a dual-purpose variety at a comparable alpha acid.