From Vol. 5, No. 11, March 2022
French hop farmers still grow more Strisselspalt than any other variety, because brewers appreciate her aroma qualities. However, some shy away because of low alpha acids (sometimes less than 2%), which is why in the aughts Hop France (Comptoir Agricole) established a breeding program that since produced Barbe Rogue, Elixir, Triskel and Mistral.
Aramis was the first release and snuck into the catalog at the center of “For the Love of Hops” mostly because she showed up in some of the first “hop switch” beers at Urban Chestnut in St. Louis, then an early version of Stammtisch, one of my favorite pilsners.
Heritage: Aramis resulted from a cross between Strisselspalt and Whitbread Golding.
The Basics: Alpha acid range is 7.9-8.3%, beta acid range 3-4.5%, and total oil 1.2-1.6 mL/100 grams. She contains a relatively large amount of monoterpene alcohols (linalool and geraniol) and also beta-eudesmol, which may be responsible for a cool, soothing sensation associated with lagers. She also has thiol precursors, which brewers experimenting with enzymes or modified yeast strains may be able to tap into.
Aroma qualities: Aramis is pleasantly fruity and floral, reminding of lemongrass, rose, raspberry and mint.