Amarillo

A citrus and floral American hop with a distinctive orange character.

About Amarillo

Amarillo is a proprietary American aroma hop discovered as a chance seedling on a Washington farm. Its orange-led citrus and floral character set it apart from other American C-hops.

It is widely used in pale ales and IPAs for aroma and works well as a late bittering and flavour hop too.

Aroma and flavour

Orange and grapefruit citrus with floral notes; a softer, more orange-led citrus than Cascade.

By the numbers, Amarillo typically carries 8 to 11% alpha acid, which drives its bitterness, and 1.5 to 1.9 total oil, which drives its aroma. It is generally treated as a dual-purpose (aroma-leaning) hop. Published figures are typical values; the real alpha and oil of any given lot vary with the harvest, so a hop bill is usually adjusted to the actual numbers on the package.

Using it in the brewery

Amarillo is used mainly late and in dry hop for its orange citrus aroma, though its moderate alpha lets it flavour and lightly bitter as well. It pairs well with Simcoe and Centennial.

Like all hops, it is best bought as vacuum-packed pellets and kept cold and sealed, since oxygen and warmth degrade the alpha acids and drive off the aroma oils over time. Buy close to when you will brew, and store any opened packets cold and airtight.

Substitutes

If Amarillo is unavailable, Centennial and Cascade make the closest substitute, sharing a similar aroma family and a comparable alpha and oil profile. A substitute is a close match rather than an identical clone, so expect it to shift the character a little.

Property	Value
Alpha acid	8 to 11%
Beta acid	6 to 7%
Total oil	1.5 to 1.9
Typical use	Dual-purpose (aroma-leaning)
Origin	United States, a proprietary variety

Typical published figures; harvest and batch vary.

Match this hop to a yeast

Open the YeastMatch selectorPair a hop with the right yeast, or find a substitute.Find Amarillo hops on eBayaffiliate

American IpaA style that uses this hop American Pale AleA style that uses this hop Double IpaA style that uses this hop CentennialA possible substitute CascadeA possible substitute All hop varietiesBrowse the hop guide

Sources: BarthHaas hop varieties · Hopslist variety data