Get to Know Your Favorite Hop | Amarillo®

Discover how Amarillo® hops' wild origins contribute to its distinct blend of citrus, floral, and tropical fruit flavors

Its genetic origins are a mystery, but that’s no surprise considering that a chance encounter led to one family discovering this hop variety on their farm. It’s beloved by craft brewers and it’s aptly named after the Spanish word for “yellow.” We’re talking about sunny Amarillo®.

Craft Beer & Brewing says, “Many craft brewers find Amarillo to be ‘a hop’s hop,’ with an unusually pleasant aroma that can intensify hop aroma in a wide range of beer styles.” They also claim that the only thing that kept it from becoming the “next Cascade” was its limited acreage.¹ Does that mean Amarillo® can be hard to access? Yes. Is it worth the effort of getting your hands on it? Absolutely!

The beer industry owes much of its evolution to the hard work and expertise of dedicated hop breeders. However, Amarillo® is a delicious reminder that nature is capable of producing exquisite flavors and aromas all on its own.

Read on and discover more about the unique origins, flavors, and aromas of Amarillo®.

Amarillo® Flavor & Aroma

Amarillo® provides respectable bittering potential with an Alpha Acid range somewhere between 7-11%. However, significantly high levels of the monoterpene myrcene (and likely tropical thiols) gives it a vibrant citrus flavor and aroma reminiscent of sweet oranges and lemons — and that’s just the start. This hop contains a wealth of unique characteristics depending on when it’s harvested. 

Virgil Gamache Farms explains that early to mid-early harvests will capture sweeter flavors and aromas (sweet candy, lemon, floral, grapefruit, etc.), while mid harvests bring out orange, stone fruit, and sometimes even light onion or garlic notes. With late-mid and late harvests, however, brewers may notice surprising herbal qualities and a dank cheesy characteristic softened by… fruit punch?² 

If your head is spinning over all of those flavor and aroma notes, we don’t blame you! It’s this diverse array of flavors, however, that have cemented Amarillo® into the hearts and minds of craft brewers everywhere. It can stand on its own in a bright, single-hopped beer, but it can also be beautifully paired with varieties like Citra®, Simcoe®, and Mosaic®. 

With its limited acreage, brewers often substitute Amarillo® with other zesty, citrus-forward hops like Cascade or Centennial. If we’re being honest, though, there’s nothing quite like dry-hopping a West Coast IPA, Amber Ale, or a juicy Wheat Beer with the vibrancy of Amarillo®.

Before Amarillo®, It Was VGXP01

This aroma hop was discovered by Virgil Gamache Farms, Inc, a leading hop grower in Toppenish in the Yakima Valley. Yes, you read that right. Amarillo® was “discovered” and not meticulously bred. However, if the Gamache family hadn’t been farming the area since 1913 and nurtured its potential, the brewing world never would have had access to this sunny hop.

On the Charles Faram podcast “Spreading Hoppiness,” the current steward of the Virgil Gamache Farms legacy, Darren Gamache, explained that his family has “kind of a funny relationship with hops.”³ Darren’s great great grandfather, Charles, purchased farm land and initially removed all of the naturally growing hops and planted potatoes. It wasn’t until prohibition ended that they began intentionally farming hops.

Darren was a junior in high school when his family stumbled upon the hop that would later become Amarillo®. During the late 1980s, the Gamache family noticed that the vine in question had a similar look to the desirable alpha and super alpha hops. “So, we let it go to maturity, smelled the hops, and I remember dad saying, ‘Gosh, I wish beer tasted like this,’ and that was kinda why we kept that plant.”

They eventually put a greenhouse up, propagated two acres, and for a decade they simply gave the hop away. It wasn’t until the mid 1990s that they began charging for it, and it wasn’t patented until after the 2000s. 

Once craft brewers realized it had a different aroma profile compared to hops like Centennial or Cascade, its popularity picked up and it became “synonymous with what a West Coast IPA was supposed to taste like.” According to Craft Beer & Brewing, it was among the top ten hop varieties growing in the Pacific Northwest in 2019 and today it’s still beloved among craft brewers across the country.⁴

Amarillo® Beyond Beer

Obviously, the vibrancy of this hop’s diverse flavors and aromas give brewers a TON of room for innovation. They can pair it with other hops, get creative with non-hop flavors, etc. Plus, summer beers that are bursting with exciting flavors can benefit from the vibrant fruitiness of Amarillo®.

Conversely, beverage makers who aren’t afraid to think outside the box can utilize this hop’s characteristics in new and exciting ways! 

A crisp hop water, for example, gives beverage makers the perfect format to allow Amarillo® to shine while pushing the boundaries of its capabilities. The industry is seeing an increasing number of NA beverage consumers searching for innovative flavor fusions, and the chameleon quality of Amarillo® allows brewers to meet this demand in a number of inventive ways.

Pairing Amarillo® with trending fruit flavors like floral Passionfruit or next-gen citrus like Blood Orange can give consumers the flavor adventure they’re craving. Whether leaning into RTD cocktails and high-ABV beers, or formulating NA teas and functional beverages, the flavor possibilities of this hop are limitless.

Read to start brewing? We’ve got you covered with our varietal-specific Optimized Hop Extracts!

Our Quantum Series starts with hops… and only hops. Using whole Amarillo® hops and pellets, we perform the highest quality extractions in the industry, so you’re JUST getting vibrant flavor and aroma without any undesirable compounds. We’re not formulating these in the lab, we’re just squeezing out every last drop of flavor and aroma for the truest version of Amarillo®. 

That also means our VG1 Quantum Profile is in limited supply. Whole hops and pellets are subject to harvest variabilities, which limits the quantity and availability of Quantum extracts. So, if you love a particular Quantum extract, act fast.

Want a custom extract? Not a problem! Pump up the candy-like quality of early-harvest Amarillo®, highlight the vibrant orange notes, or add an entirely new twist to this hop’s flavor and aroma. Differentiate your brand with exclusive flavors and aromas customers won’t get anywhere else.

Abstrax | Brew the True Flavor and Aroma of Amarillo®

Is your mind bursting with all of the brewing possibilities of Amarillo®? Start brewing today!

Unlike traditional extracts, our Optimized Hop Extracts offer varietal-specific flavors and aromas with no alpha acids and no undesirable plant compounds that gunk up your tank. They have a 100% utilization rate, they don’t require carriers, they offer logistical cost savings, and there’s zero “hop creep.”

Contact us today, and let’s get you brewing with the sunny flavors and aromas of Amarillo®.

1. The Oxford Companion to Beer Definition of Amarillo (Hop). Craft Beer & Brewing. (n.d.). https://beerandbrewing.com/dictionary/9UD3hRcRx2/

2. Virgil Gamache Farms. (n.d.). Home. https://amarillohop.com/

3. Charles Faram. (2021, March 18). Video and Podcast Series Episode 2 - Darren Gamache of Amarillo® Fame. Spreading Hoppiness. https://www.charlesfaram.co.uk/news/darrengamache/

4. Craft Beer & Brewing. (2021, June 6). Infographic: Tracking the Top Hops. Craft Beer & Brewing. https://beerandbrewing.com/infographic-tracking-the-top-hops/