Mosaic Hop
| Purpose: | Dual |
|---|---|
| Country: | United States of America (USA) |
| International Code: | MOS |
| Cultivar/Brand ID: | HBC 369 |
| Ownership: | ® Hop Breeding Company |
| Comparison | Compare with other hops |
Purchase Mosaic Hops
Mosaic hops are available to be purchased at multiple suppliers. We've conveniently linked to the most popular hop suppliers as well as Amazon.com. Every supplier may have different prices, harvest years and amounts available for purchase.
Origin and Geneology of the Mosaic Hop
Mosaic is the daughter of the Simcoe (YCH 14) hop and a Nugget-derived male which had a linage including Tomahawk, Brewers Gold, Early Green, and an unknown variety. It was released to the craft brewing scene in 2012 by the Hop Breeding Company (HBC).
US hops begin to be harvested in mid-to-late August for most aroma varieties.
Flavor & Aroma Profile of Mosaic Hops
Mosaic is a dual-purpose hop that can be used in all hop additions throughout the brewing process.
Mosaic offers a unique and complex blend of floral, tropical, fruity, and earthy characteristics that translate very favorably into several different styles of beer, although it is primarily used in IPAs.
Mosaic's complex flavor and aroma profile led to its name. This hop is most noted for its blueberry and tropical aromas, but is also known to have citrus, grassy, pine, spice, tangerine, papaya, rose, earthy, floral (blossoms), and bubble gum descriptors.
The aroma/flavor descriptors for the wildly popular Mosaic hop commonly include fruity (blueberry), citrus (tangerine, grapefruit), tropical (mango, guava), floral, and earthy. The combination of these aroma/flavor descriptors with the relatively high alpha-acid levels allows this hop to serve a dual purpose, as both a bittering and flavor/aroma hop in the brewing process. Ultimately, Mosaic provides flavor and aroma profiles in beer that simply cannot be accomplished with other hop cultivars.
Mosaic hops are one of the most used - and recognizable - hop varieties in use today. It can be used in many different beer styles, but will usually be found in IPAs and pale ales.
As for growing properties of this hop, Mosaic has a tight-knit appearance with a compact cone. Mosaic has a unique aroma combined with high α-acid content, powdery mildew tolerance, and exceptional yield.
Read More: The Most Common Hops Used in IPAs
Tags: #blueberry #tropical_fruit #citrus #grassy #pine #spicy #tangerine #papaya #rose #earthy #blossom #bubblegum #grapefruit
Brewing Values for Mosaic Hops
These are the common ranges that we've seen with Mosaic hops over the years. Each year's crop can yield hops that have slightly different qualities, so these number ranges are based on history.
| Alpha Acid % (AA) Alpha acids are the main source of bitterness in beer. Longer boil times will result in isomerization of more alpha acids leading to increased bitterness. Learn more » | 11.5-13.5%12.5% avg |
|---|---|
| Beta Acid %Beta acids are a component of hop resins responsible for contributing volatile aromatic and flavor properties. Beta acids contribute no bitterness. | 3.2-3.9%3.6% avg |
| Alpha-Beta RatioThe ratio of alpha to beta acids dictates the degree to which bitterness fades during aging. 1:1 ratios are common in aroma varieties. | 3:1 - 4:14:1 avg |
| Hop Storage Index (HSI)The HSI indicates the percent of alpha and beta acids lost after 6 months of storage at room temperature (68°F or 20°C). The freshest hops will always be the best. | 26% (Good) 0.25-0.277 |
| Co-Humulone as % of AlphaLow cohumulone hops may impart a smoother bitterness when added to the boil as opposed to higher ones that add a sharper bitterness to the final beer. Learn more » | 24-26%25% avg |
| Total Oils (mL/100g)These highly volatile, not very soluble oils are easily boiled off, but add flavor and aroma to the finished beer when added very late in the boil or during fermentation. Learn more » | 1.0-1.5 mL1.3mL avg |
| Total Oil Breakdown: | |
| › MyrceneFlavors: resinous, citrus, fruity (β-myrcene) | 47-55%51% avg |
| › HumuleneFlavors: woody, noble, spicy (α-caryophyllene) | 10-16%13% avg |
| › CaryophylleneFlavors: pepper, woody, herbal (β-caryophyllene) | 3-8%5.5% avg. |
| › FarneseneFlavors: fresh, green, floral (β-farnesene) | 0-1%0.5% avg |
| › All OthersIncluding β-pinene, linalool, geranoil & selinene | 20-40% |
Hop Pairings with Mosaic Hops
Some hops just taste better together. We recently analyzed [1] hundreds of the most popular beers to find which hops are commonly paired together. We found that Citra, Simcoe, El Dorado, Amarillo, Galaxy & Azacca hops are commonly used alongside the Mosaic hop. This is not a complete list, but should give you a good idea of what hops are commonly used together.
Here is the relative frequency of the top 6 hops that are used with Mosaic:
Beer Styles using Mosaic Hops
Some popular beer styles that make use of the Mosaic hop include American Pale Ale, IPA, Double IPA & Stout.
Mosaic is also sometimes featured as a single hop in beers to highlight its unique flavors and aromas. It can be added either as a fresh hop, or via hop pellets. Some popular examples of commercial beers that use 100% Mosaic hops in their recipes are SweetWater Hatchery Mosaic IPA, Founders Mosaic Promise, Other Half Mosaic Dream & Trillium Mosaic Cutting Tiles.
Mosaic Hop Substitutions
If the Mosaic hop is hard to find or if you are simply out of it on brew day, you can try to substitute it with a similar hop. The old way of choosing replacement hops was done by experience and "feel". There is nothing wrong with that way. However, we wanted to build a data-driven tool to find your Mosaic substitutions.
Experienced brewers have chosen the following hop varieties as substitutions of Mosaic:
Is Mosaic available in lupulin powder?
Yes! There is a version of the Mosaic hop in lupulin powder form. Mosaic lupulin powder is suggested to be used at about half the amount as you'd normally use with pellets. The Cryo/LupuLN2 (Yakima Chief Hops), Lupomax (Haas) and Hopsteiner products are pure concentrated lupulin powder, which add big flavor when used in the whirlpool or dry hop additions.
Mosaic Hop Statistics
We love statistics. We've analyzed hundreds of IPAs, dug into the Hop Growers of America's annual reports[2] and researched the history behind some of the most popular beer ingredients. Here are a few of the things we've found interesting about the Mosaic hop:
- In 2022, Mosaic moved up to be the second most grown hop in the US.
- Mosaic was the 3rd fastest growing hops in terms of production between 2014 and 2019.
- In 2019, Mosaic was the 4th most produced hop in the United States.
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