Simcoe

Simcoe is the brand name (Simcoe®) of the hop variety YCR 14, in full 'YCR Accession No. 14', from Yakima Chief Ranches in the state of Washington. According to the plant patent, the parents are unknown. The plant was discovered among plants from a controlled breeding programme, in a research nursery in Prosser. The patent, which was applied for in 1999 and granted in 2001, names Charles E. Zimmermann as inventor.

According to the patent, Simcoe is used for bittering and for aroma, with 12–14% alpha acids. Simcoe is also the mother of another well-known hop: Mosaic.

Independent research. Japanese researchers at the Asahi brewery smelled an 'extremely strong' fruity blackcurrant aroma in beer made with some American hop varieties. They suspected that the thiol 4MMP was the main source of it. Of the varieties they measured, Simcoe contained the most 4MMP, ahead of Summit, Apollo, Topaz and Cascade. In European varieties they did not find the compound. German research confirmed that Simcoe, like Citra, Eureka and Apollo, contains a lot of 4MMP (called 4MSP there, another name for the same compound), while traditional German and English hops did not have it. The level did depend strongly on the harvest year and on storage. According to a review article, 4MMP smells of blackcurrant and passion fruit.

What the breeder, the trade and the literature say. The 1999 patent describes the aroma as 'sharp, floral with spicy notes'. In 2016 the Hop Growers of America spoke of a unique pine aroma, and brewing-book author John Palmer of a smell of freshly cut pine. Yakima Chief Hops mentions earthy and pine notes, with citrus, grapefruit and wood.

Yakima Chief Hops calls Simcoe suitable as a dual-purpose hop and writes that it is used throughout the brewing process: it excels in hoppy IPAs, but also adds extra depth to dark beers such as stout and porter. You can find it as whole cones, pellets, cryo hop and CO2 extract. According to the patent, 25–30% of the alpha acids were lost after six months of ordinary storage.

With Simcoe too, the moment of harvest counts: in American research on five varieties, ripeness had a particularly large influence for Sabro, Mosaic, Simcoe and Citra.

Similar hops according to Yakima Chief Hops: Citra, Mosaic, Centennial and Warrior.

Simcoe comes from the breeding programme of Yakima Chief Ranches. According to the breeder, that company was founded in the late 1980s by the Carpenter, Smith and Perrault families, with its own breeding programme. Besides Simcoe, that programme also produced Ahtanum, Palisade and Warrior. According to Yakima Chief Hops, Simcoe came on the market in 2000. In 2003 Yakima Chief Ranches combined its breeding work with that of John I. Haas in the Hop Breeding Company. That company later released Mosaic: a cross from 2001 with Simcoe as the mother.

In 2025 there were 3,490 acres of Simcoe in the US, about 1,410 hectares: almost exactly as much as Mosaic.

A good starting point: look for an IPA or West Coast IPA in which Simcoe plays the lead. Smell for pine, and behind it grapefruit and other fruit. If you also pick up something of blackcurrant, that may be 4MMP. Try tasting Simcoe alongside Mosaic: then you have mother and daughter in your glass. Hoppy beers are best drunk fresh.