El Dorado is a dual-use hop variety released in 2010 by CLS Farms. It was named after the mythical city of gold due to its lupulin glands bursting with bright tropical fruit, watermelon, and stone fruit flavors. It quickly became popular among commercial and home brewers with a high alpha acid content and saturated oils, often paired with other citrusy aroma hop varieties. Its sweet, candied fruit elements are balanced by rind-like bitterness and finish with subdued, resinous herbs and spice. El Dorado is now a top-ten US hop variety, known for its intense hop aroma that complements other hops.
| Usage: | Dual-Purpose |
| Country of Origin: | United States |
| Hop Growers Code: | ELD |
Where To Buy El Dorado Hops
El Dorado hops are used for their high alpha bittering characteristics and are best known for their sweet, candy-like aroma. Strong bittering and aromatic notes of cherry and mango compliment everything from IPAs to Pale Ales and Wheats.
El Dorado Flavor And Aroma
El Dorado is a dual-purpose hop that is often described to have the following aroma characteristics:
pineapple, watermelon
pear, candy
resinous
El Dorado 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. | 13% – 16% |
| Beta Acid % Beta acids are what give hops their more aroma and flavor compounds. | 5.5% – 7.5% |
| 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. | 2:1 – 3:1 |
| Co-Humulone as a % of Alpha Higher numbers are said to impart a harsher bitterness. | 30%- 35% |
| Total Oils (mL/100g) With more total oils, typically comes a more complex hop profile but these are highly volatile compounds. | 2.5mL – 3.3mL |
| Myrcene green, resinous | 50% – 60% |
| Humulene woody, piney | 8% – 12% |
| Caryophyllene woody | 6% – 10% |
| Farnesene floral | 0.1% – 1% |
| Other Oils: Includes beta-ionine, beta-pinene, limonene, linalool, geranoil & selinene | 15.2% – 34.9% |
| 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). | Retains 36% of its alpha acid after 6 months of storage at 20ºC (68ºF). |
| Hop Storage Index (HSI) Rating | Good |
El Dorado 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 El Dorado, 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 El Dorado 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
