From Vol. 3, No. 11, April 2019
Heritage: You won’t find Comet in the varieties cataloged in “For The Love of Hops” because only a few plants were being tended to in 2012, basically for archival purposes. USDA Accession 62103 is the result of a cross made in 1961 between a seedling of the old English variety Sunshine and a wild male collected in Utah. (European mother + American father.) It was named Comet and released in 1974 as a high alpha hop. Acreage crested at 635 in 1980, about the time higher alpha varieties became available. By 1986, Comet was listed as “no longer in production.”
“There was nothing good about it,” said Gene Probasco, who managed the John I. Haas farm as well as the breeding program that produced Citra. “It was hard to pick. It was very late maturing. The aroma was very unacceptable.” He paused. “That was a different time.” Today the most popular varieties mature within the same 10-day window. That Comet can be picked later has become a positive. More important, when the same compounds that created the pungent “wild American” aroma that made Comet unacceptable in the past interact with yeast (see biotransformations) bold, often fruity and tropical, flavors result.
Farmers harvested 22 acres in 2013. Last year Washington farmers planted 210 acres, Idaho farmers 112 acres and German farmers an undisclosed amount.
The Basics: No surprise, Comet grown in the Yakima Valley is not identical to Comet grown in the Hallertau region of Germany. Yakima Chief lists alpha acids between 8 and 10.5%, beta acids between 4 and 5%, and total oil between 1.2 and 2 ml/100g.
BarthHaas in Germany lists alpha acids between 9.4 and 12.4%, beta acids between 3 and 6.1 percent and total oils between 1.4 and 3.3 ml/100g.
Aroma qualities: Yakima Chief describes aroma as “Wild American,” grass and grapefruit. BarthHaas describes elderberry syrup, mandarin, geranium and lemongrass.
Recent research: Hop scientists in Japan determined that Comet is rich in bound geraniol (like thiols, it may be free or bound). Researchers in Germany found that Comet grown in Germany had higher levels of the esters isobutyl-isobutyrate and 2-methylbutyl-2-methylpropanoate (see conversion of organic acids into esters). These may be perceived as fruity, green apple, apricot-like, grape, melon.