Astra has a tropical fruit flavor with hints of green melon and white peaches. It is an exotic-tasting hop that is fun to experiment with as it has a lot of characteristics in common with wine grapes.
Astra is a sweet hop that is often used as an aroma hop. It has relatively high alpha acid levels (10%+), making it prime real estate for Ales and IPAs.
| Usage: | Dual-Purpose |
| Country of Origin: | Australia |
| Hop Growers Code: | AST |
Where To Buy Astra Hops
Astra Flavor And Aroma
Astra is a dual-purpose hop that is often described to have the following aroma characteristics:
grapefruit
grassy
peach
Astra Hop Oil Breakdown
Hop oils can vary from year to year and farm to farm but based on our research, here are the typical values we have seen reported. This information comes from various hop farms, The Hop Aroma Compendium, and For The Love Of Hops.
| Alpha Acid % (AA) Alpha acids are what is isomerized when boiling to create bitterness in beer. | 7% – 10% |
| Beta Acid % Beta acids are what give hops their more aroma and flavor compounds. | 4% – 6% |
| Alpha-Beta Ratio This ratio of alpha acids to beta acids determines how quickly bitterness fades during aging. Lower ratios are common for aromatic varieties. | 1:1 – 3:1 |
| Co-Humulone as a % of Alpha Higher numbers are said to impart a harsher bitterness. | 26% – 28% |
| Total Oils (mL/100g) With more total oils, typically comes a more complex hop profile but these are highly volatile compounds. | 1mL – 3mL |
| Myrcene green, resinous | Data Not Available |
| Humulene woody, piney | 6% – 8% |
| Caryophyllene woody | Data Not Available |
| Farnesene floral | Data Not Available |
| Other Oils: Includes beta-ionine, beta-pinene, limonene, linalool, geranoil & selinene | 92% – 94% |
| 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). | Data Not Available |
| Hop Storage Index (HSI) Rating | Data Not Available |
Astra Hop Substitutions
Replacing one hop for another is seldom straightforward but sometimes you don’t have the right hop or the right quantity of hops for the beer you want to make. For those situations, we have made a comprehensive list of hops to substitute on brew day.
These substitutions aren’t perfect as hop chemistry is pretty complex.
We wanted to make this list of substitutions with varietals that are easy to find when possible. For Astra, we recommend substituting with the following hops:
Beer Styles
For the most part, any hop could have a place in just about any beer style. Based on popular beers, historical usage, and our own preferences, we would recommend using Astra for IPA, New England IPA, Pale Ale, Wheat Beer, Golden Ale. That being said, experiment and see what works best for you.
References
https://www.hopslist.com/
https://www.ars.usda.gov/
https://www.brewersassociation.org/
https://www.barthhaasx.com/
https://www.yakimachief.com/
Hieronymus, Stan. For The Love of Hops. Brewers Publications, 2012
The Hop Aroma Compendium. 2012
