Nugget
A high-alpha bittering workhorse with a heavy, herbal-resin punch.
What it tastes like
Nugget is one of the classic American high-alpha bittering hops — you meet it as firm, slightly heavy bitterness with a herbal, resinous, woody character rather than bright fruit. Bred from a Brewer's Gold–rooted line, it also shows citrus and stone-fruit hints in larger late additions. For years it was one of the most-planted bittering hops in the United States.
Best in these styles
Beers showcasing Nugget
Specific beer examples coming soon.
Substitutes & relatives
If you can't source Nugget, these hops bring overlapping character.
Lineage & family
How Nugget connects to the rest of the hop family — its parents, and the varieties it spawned. Trace the full pedigree in the Hop Lineage explorer →
All 12 descendants
Triumph · Denali · Loral · Azacca · Mosaic · Jarrylo · Bravo · Summit · Apollo · Millennium · Calypso · Super Galena
One of the most influential hops in the family tree — #7 by number of descendants (34).
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
Oil composition
History
Nugget was bred by the USDA hop-breeding program and released in 1983; its lineage traces back through Brewer's Gold, Canterbury Golding and Early Green. As a high-alpha 'super' hop it became one of the most widely grown bittering varieties in the United States.
Sources
So you can see nothing here is made up — the published specifications on this page are traceable to grower / breeder data: