Cashmere hops for melon and lemon in soft hazy beers
Cashmere is a Pacific Northwest hop that smells of melon and lemon with a soft edge. Hazy beers need hops that stay gentle at high dry hop rates. This guide shows how to use it.
A gentle hop for a heavy dry hop
Cashmere is a US aroma hop bred in Washington State. Its alpha acids are moderate, around 7 to 10%. It brings melon, lemon and lime with a soft, slightly coconut backdrop. It has a family link to Cascade, which explains the citrus, but it is rounder and less sharp.
Hazy pale ales and IPAs are hopped heavily after the boil, often many times the rate of a classic pale ale. A hop that turns harsh at high rates is a poor choice. Cashmere's softness is why brewers pick it for the job.
Its Cascade ancestry gives it the clean citrus backbone, but the bright grapefruit edge is dialled down. In a heavily dry hopped beer that matters, because harsh hop compounds build up with every gram. Cashmere tends to stay juicy where sharper varieties turn grassy or biting. A 20 L pilot with Cashmere alone costs little and teaches a lot. If you have only brewed with classic citrus hops, a small test batch is a quick way to hear the difference.
What melon and lemon do to the beer
Melon is a sweet, watery fruit note. Lemon is bright and sour. Together they push a beer towards juice and away from pine and resin. They sit well on a soft, round malt body and a low level of bitterness.
For more depth, pair it with a hop that adds a second note without shouting, such as Lotus for orange and vanilla or Liberty for gentle spice. For a tropical top note, add a little El Dorado.
Do not stack more than three varieties. Hazy beers gain little from a crowded hop bill. A clean single hop beer shows you exactly what Cashmere does before you blend it with anything else.
A 20 litre hazy pale ale
Grist: 3.5 kg pale malt, 1 kg flaked oats and 0.5 kg wheat malt. That is 70%, 20% and 10% of a 5 kg grist. Mash at 67 °C for 60 minutes, which leaves some body. Add about 15 g of Cashmere at 60 minutes for around 15 IBU. The whirlpool adds more, so expect 25 to 30 IBU in total.
Whirlpool at 75 °C for 20 minutes with 50 g of Cashmere. Ferment with a hazy-friendly ale yeast at 19 to 20 °C. When fermentation is about two thirds done, add 60 g of Cashmere as a dry hop and leave it for three days. Cold crash, then package with as little oxygen contact as possible.
Where hazy beers go wrong
Haze comes from proteins, polyphenols, yeast and hop oils suspended in the beer. It is not a fault. Oxidation is. A hazy beer that turns brown and tastes of cardboard has taken on oxygen, usually during dry hopping or at transfer. Closed transfers and CO2 purging matter far more than any recipe tweak.
Keep an eye on the pH too. Hazy beers taste best with a finished pH near 4.2 to 4.4. Harsh bitterness can come from dry hopping into a beer that is too high in pH.
Yeast choice matters as much as the hop. Strains bred for hazy beers leave residual sweetness and fruity esters that suit melon and lemon. A very clean, dry lager strain would make a thinner, sharper beer from the same hops.
Hazy beer in a warm country
Hazy beers are fresh-beer styles. Hop aroma falls off in weeks, even when kept cold. It falls off in days when warm. Plan to drink it within a few weeks of packaging, keep it cold from the fermenter to the glass and date every bottle.
Water matters too. Many Indian brewers start with municipal water high in alkalinity. A soft, chloride-leaning profile suits hazy beers, so treat the water before you add hops. Our guide to brewing for India covers the basics.
If you cannot hold the beer cold, do not brew a hazy at all. A crisp pale lager or a clean pale ale is the better choice if the beer will sit warm. Save the Cashmere for a batch you can keep cold and drink fresh.
Common questions
What does Cashmere taste like?
Melon and lemon with a soft, slightly coconut-like background. It is gentle rather than piney or harsh.
Is Cashmere a bittering hop?
It can bitter, with alpha acids around 7 to 10%, but its strength is soft aroma in whirlpool and dry hop additions.
How much Cashmere should I dry hop with?
A hazy IPA often takes 5 to 10 g per litre in total. For the recipe here, 60 g in 20 L is 3 g per litre, a moderate rate that suits a pale ale.
