Hop
Sabro
An unusual modern American hop with coconut, tangerine and cedar character, derived from a wild neomexicanus lineage.
Sabro descends from a Humulus lupulus var. neomexicanus parent — a wild North American subspecies rather than the European stock behind almost every other commercial variety. That unusual parentage is the likely source of its coconut character, which nothing else in the catalogue produces.
Aroma and flavour
Descriptors are impressions rather than analytical results. BeerHQ rates this characterisation as commonly reported.
Belongs to
Analysis
| Alpha acid | 12–16% |
|---|---|
| Total oil | 3–4 ml/100 g |
| Purpose | aroma |
| Origin | United States |
| Released | 2018 |
| Breeding code | HBC 438 |
| Storage stability | moderate |
The name is a registered trademark rather than a plain variety name, which affects what a label may say and who may grow it.
How it is used
- 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 Sabro
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.
Melba 12–16% alpha
Shares citrus, tropical fruit with Sabro; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
Not the same: brings stone fruit that Sabro does not; lacks the coconut creamy and earth and wood of Sabro.
Close enough in both aroma and alpha acid to swap in a recipe.
Galaxy 12–16% alpha
Shares citrus, tropical fruit with Sabro; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
Not the same: brings stone fruit that Sabro does not; lacks the coconut creamy and earth and wood of Sabro.
Comparable alpha acid, but a different aroma — a bittering substitute rather than a character one.
Strata 11–15% alpha
Shares citrus, tropical fruit with Sabro; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
Not the same: brings pine and resin that Sabro does not; lacks the coconut creamy and earth and wood of Sabro.
Close enough in both aroma and alpha acid to swap in a recipe.
El Dorado 13–16% alpha
Shares citrus, tropical fruit with Sabro; a dual-purpose variety at a comparable alpha acid.
Not the same: brings stone fruit that Sabro does not; lacks the coconut creamy and earth and wood of Sabro.
Comparable alpha acid, but a different aroma — a bittering substitute rather than a character one.
Styrian Wolf 10–15% alpha
Shares citrus, tropical fruit with Sabro; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
Not the same: brings stone fruit that Sabro does not; lacks the coconut creamy and earth and wood of Sabro.
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.
- Melba — Shares citrus, tropical fruit with Sabro; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
- Strata — Shares citrus, tropical fruit with Sabro; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
- Styrian Wolf — Shares citrus, tropical fruit with Sabro; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
- Simcoe — Shares citrus, tropical fruit, earth and wood with Sabro; a dual-purpose variety at a comparable alpha acid.