First Gold hops, the dwarf variety for English ales

What dwarf means for a hop

A traditional English hop garden trains bines up strings to a wirework around 5 to 6 metres high. Picking means cutting the bines down and stripping them, which is heavy, seasonal work. Dwarf or hedgerow varieties grow to about half that height on a low trellis. Machines can harvest them along the row. Growers report lower labour costs and easier spraying.

First Gold was bred at Wye in England and released in the mid 1990s. It was one of the first dwarf varieties with a flavour English brewers actually wanted. Its parentage includes Whitbread Golding Variety, which explains the Golding-like softness.

The numbers on the packet

Alpha acid usually runs from about 6.5 to 8.5%, higher than a Golding at 4 to 6%. That makes First Gold genuinely dual purpose. It can carry the whole bitterness of a pale ale while still adding flavour.

The aroma is orange and tangerine, sometimes described as marmalade, with a spicy, slightly floral edge. It is more fruit-forward than Goldings and less earthy than Fuggle. Used late, it reads as clearly English but brighter than the classic varieties.

A single hop golden ale

First Gold is one of the few English hops you can use alone. Here is a 20 litre golden ale at about OG 1.044 and 30 IBU:

• Pale ale malt 3.6 kg (95%).
• Wheat malt 0.19 kg (5%) for head retention.
• First Gold at 7.5% alpha, 60 minutes: about 25 g for 23 IBU.
• First Gold at 10 minutes: 20 g for about 7 IBU plus flavour.
• First Gold dry hop: 40 g for three days.

Ferment with a clean English ale yeast at 18 to 19 °C. The result tastes of orange peel over biscuit malt. It is a good first single hop beer because there is nothing to balance except malt.

Where it fits in English beer

First Gold suits most English pale beers:

• Golden ales and summer ales, where its citrus edge reads as refreshing.
• Best bitters, as a fruitier alternative to Goldings late in the boil.
• English IPAs, often bittered with Target and finished with First Gold.

In dark beers it is less distinctive. The orange note gets lost under roast, so save it for beers where you can taste it.

Dry hop for three days, then get it off

At home, the most common dry hop mistake is leaving hop pellets in the fermenter for two weeks because you forgot. With First Gold, three days at 18 to 20 °C gives most of the aroma. Longer contact drifts grassy and can add a slightly astringent finish. Mark the dry hop date on the fermenter lid with a marker. Package or cold crash on day three or four.

Getting it in India

First Gold is an English crop with modest acreage. Indian homebrew suppliers stock it on and off. When you see it, check the harvest year and buy sealed foil packs. Store them flat in the freezer. Heat is the enemy of hop oils. A parcel left in a hot courier van for two days in May will lose aroma before it reaches you.

If it is out of stock, Goldings plus a small amount of a citrus hop is a reasonable stand-in. Our guide on Whitbread Golding Variety covers its parent, which is also worth knowing.

First Gold against Goldings in the same beer

The quickest way to learn First Gold is a split batch. Brew 20 litres of a simple pale ale, bitter it with a neutral hop, then split the wort into two 10 litre fermenters. Add 15 g of First Gold at flameout to one and 15 g of East Kent Goldings to the other. Use the same yeast and the same temperature.

Taste them side by side after two weeks. The Goldings beer will read as honey, soft spice and a little earth. The First Gold beer will be brighter, with orange peel and more obvious fruit. Once you have tasted that difference, you will know which one each recipe wants. No description on a packet teaches it as well.

Why the same IBU tastes different

Brew the golden ale above twice, once bittered with First Gold and once with a clean high alpha hop, both at 30 IBU. They will not taste the same. The oils and minor compounds that survive the boil change how bitterness and fruit come across. Learning why is where hop chemistry starts to pay for itself.

Common questions

What is a dwarf hop?

A dwarf or hedgerow hop grows to roughly half the height of a traditional variety on a low trellis. That makes machine harvesting easier and cuts labour.

What does First Gold taste like?

Orange, tangerine and marmalade with a spicy, floral edge. It is fruitier than Goldings and less earthy than Fuggle.

Can First Gold be used for bittering?

Yes. At about 6.5 to 8.5% alpha acid it bitters efficiently, which is why it works well as a single hop in golden ales.