Apollo

A super-high-alpha bittering hop with pungent citrus and pine.

Country
USA
Released
Alpha Acid
15.0–19.0%

What it tastes like

Apollo is one of the strongest bittering hops in commercial use — a super-high-alpha variety from Hopsteiner with pungent lime, grapefruit and pine character. Brewers reach for it when they want maximum, efficient bitterness, sometimes with a resinous citrus edge in late additions.

limegrapefruitpineresinous

Best in these styles

Tasting Tip
A little Apollo goes a long way — its very high alpha makes it an efficient kettle bittering hop, with a pungent citrus-pine edge if used late.

Beers showcasing Apollo

Specific beer examples coming soon.

Substitutes & relatives

If you can't source Apollo, these hops bring overlapping character.

Lineage & family

How Apollo connects to the rest of the hop family — its parents, and the varieties it spawned. Trace the full pedigree in the Hop Lineage explorer →

NuggetGalenaFuggleApollo
Founding lineage
● Fuggle 52%   ● BB1 41%   ● open-pollinated 6%

Blood relatives

Genetically closest in the pedigree (may taste different):

Pedigree data adapted from the Rohwer (2021) hop family tree (CC0 1.0). Compilation, analysis & visualisation © 2026 Veryation · Freshie™.

For brewers — technical profile

Alpha Acid
15.0–19.0%
Beta Acid
5.5–8.0%
Total Oil
0.8–2.5 mL/100g

History

Apollo was bred by the Hopsteiner breeding program in the United States, with a pedigree of Zeus crossed with a Hopsteiner experimental line (98001 × USDA 19058m). It is a super-high-alpha bittering variety noted for low cohumulone and good storage stability.

Sources

So you can see nothing here is made up — the published specifications on this page are traceable to grower / breeder data:

Freshness Note
Apollo is noted for good storage stability among high-alpha hops, so its bittering holds up comparatively well — but cold, sealed storage still keeps it at its best.

Explore more hops

→ Browse all hop varieties

→ More from Yakima Valley