Brew Dudes

There’s something pure and almost meditative about doing a SMaSH beer: one malt, one hop, water, yeast. What we are seeking is to learn what a hop really brings to the beer.

This round is all about Contessa hops, US-grown “noble hop” developed by Hopsteiner. Let’s see what we learned from this experiment.

The Process

As we do for all our 1 US gallon SMaSH beer experiments, we keep it to two pounds of base malt, one ounce of hops, in this case, Contessa hops, and good old US-05 yeast.
Because of the “nobel” nature of the variety, I evenly spread the additions of the hops across the brewing process.

Contessa Hops SMaSH Beer:

• Malt: 2 pounds of Rahr 2-row pale malt

• Hops: 1 ounce (28 g) of Contessa hops

  • 7 g at 60 minutes to go in the boil

  • 7 g at 15 minutes to go in the boil

  • 7 g at flame-out

  • 7 g dry-hop after chilling

• Yeast: 3 g of SafAle US-05

• Water: 2 gallons to boil, spring water from the store

• Procedure: 60 minute mash, 60 minute, chill, pitch yeast, ferment, dry-hop after 24 hour chill for 1 day, package

Our Tasting Notes

From the pour, Contessa delivered something interesting: herbal and green, like green tea and soft lemongrass and something floral. There’s also a light, underripe pear vibe, maybe a hint of light citrus, but nothing aggressive or juicy like your typical American “punch-you-over-the-head” hops.

In flavor, that herbal, vegetal quality carries through. Mike said it was a little reminiscent of mushrooms or a subtle forest-floor vibe, but not dank or funky. It’s more “quiet forest walk” than “pine stinky trail.” The bitterness is smooth and gentle, clean on the palate, light enough that you just keep sipping.

Our Overall Thoughts

So what do we think? Contessa hops are quiet, refined, and elegant. If you’re chasing big citrus bombs or tropical hop bombs, this hop variety is not what you are looking for.
This hop is for beer that’s subtle, drinkable, and maybe a bit contemplative. We think it would be good in light lagers, Kölsch, or a soft wheat beer or Gose.

Certainly if you are looking for a change from the typical, traditional noble hops,  give Contessa a shot. With a light malt bill, I don’t think you’ll go wrong.

Brew ON!

Yes, it is another single malt and single hop (SMaSH) beer. We revisit a hop experiment we tried earlier this year. It’s the second time with the variety formerly known as HBC 1019, now branded as Dolcita hops.

We grabbed the 2025 harvest of it and brewed it in a simple setup: just one malt (Rahr 2-row) and one ounce of the hops in a small one-gallon batch. Nothing fancy, we are just trying to let the hops shine.

Let’s dive in.

The Recipe & Process

Recipe (One-Gallon Batch / SMASH Format)

Malt: Two-row pale malt (Roar Pale, or your equivalent) – full batch.

Hops: 1 oz Dolcita (2025 harvest) total, split across the brew process (bittering + whirlpool/hop-burst + one-day cold dry-hop)

Bittering: small charge early boil – 3.5 grams.

Whirlpool/hop burst: After the boil, chill the wort to ~180°F (≈82°C) and rest ~10 minutes with hop addition 17.5 grams.

Chill down to fermentation temperature; pitch yeast and ferment ~1 week.

Cold dry-hop: 7 grams of Dolcita for one day right before packaging.

What We Thought – The Verdict

The aroma was lively. Immediately, we were sniffing things like grass, hay, green melon, even a touch of lychee. It had a green fruit-leaning note, but not sugary sweet.

On the palate, the hop came through, though less flamboyant than the aroma. We tasted a bit of white pith bitterness, some melon rind texture, grassy back-notes, and the lychee fruit notes again.

As the beer warmed, the pithy rind side grew slightly stronger.

Some of our notes match the commercial sensory profile for Dolcita hops, especially the honeydew melon one.

So, what’s the verdict? We quite liked it. The aroma out-rocks the flavor. The grassy/melon/lychee fruit side is intriguingly unique. It is not “instant candy-sweet”, but more layered and textured.

If I were picking styles, this hop could shine in a wheat beer (letting that melon and light grass mingle), or maybe a modern lager or “Italian Pilsner” type. With that style you want to be emphasizing crispness, letting the hop whisper rather than scream.

For a full-on IPA blast, you might go heavier on the quantity or pair it with something more citrus-bright to bring out the orange/tangerine edge that the commercial notes mention. In our batch, we didn’t chase the orange, we let the green-melon and rind side lead.

If you’re looking to explore a hop with personality rather than shouting “pineapple candy,” this one’s a nice pick. Thanks for joining us on this little experiment!

Brew on!