Idaho 7

Idaho 7 comes from Jackson Hop Farm in Wilder, in the American state of Idaho. The variety came on the market in 2015. It has also been sold under the name '007 The Golden Hop'; according to the merchant Haas, that was the original name.

The merchant Crosby Hops says it helped choose which experimental varieties from the grower Nate Jackson came to market. According to Crosby there were nine, and number seven stood out: that is how Idaho 7 got its name. According to Brulosophy, the parentage is unknown.

Idaho 7 is a brand name, but other growers grow it too. In 2025, according to the American agricultural statistics, it stood at 410 acres in Idaho and Washington, about 166 hectares. That yielded well over 500 tonnes of hops.

Scientific research on Idaho 7 is limited. A study by researchers from the hop merchant Hopsteiner, with 250 samples of 97 varieties, looked at thiols: fruity sulfur compounds that you can smell in tiny amounts. Idaho 7 fell in the highest category for 'thiol impact' there, together with Citra, Mosaic and Strata, among others. It did contain 4MMP, the thiol that smells of blackcurrant, but less than 10 micrograms per kilo.

In a 2023 American study, researchers brewed, with a brewery, a hazy IPA that was hopped with Idaho 7 at the moment the yeast was added. An untrained tasting panel chose tropical, fruity, pineapple, papaya, mango and lemongrass; the researchers themselves call those tasting results indicative. Citrus was not mentioned for this beer. Linalool, a floral aroma compound, was among the ten most common volatile compounds.

Merchants describe Idaho 7 as guava, apricot, pine resin, lemon and orange peel (Haas). Crosby Hops mentions tropical fruit, pineapple, apricot, red grapefruit and papaya, with black tea and pine; brewers whom Crosby quotes also mention something 'dank'. According to Crosby, Idaho 7 picked too late can start to smell of onion and garlic.

Idaho 7 is a 'dual purpose' hop: suitable for bitterness and aroma. According to Crosby Hops, the alpha acid content is high enough to bitter, and the aroma lends itself well to dry hopping. How many alpha acids it contains differs strongly by source: Charles Faram gives 9–12%, Haas 13–15%.

According to Crosby, Idaho 7 suits IPA, pale ale and hoppy American wheat beer, as the only hop or in a blend. The merchant calls it 'as intense as Citra, with the depth of Mosaic', but also writes that you can use it to make beers that stand apart from 'the Citra and Mosaic group'. These are trade descriptions, not measurements.

The stories about the beginning of Idaho 7 differ. The merchant Charles Faram writes that the Sierra Nevada brewery chose the variety from the experimental varieties at Jackson Hop Farm. Crosby Hops says that they helped choose. Haas, Charles Faram and Brulosophy do all three give 2015 as the year it came on the market. According to Crosby, Nate Jackson only started the experimental varieties in 2015, which does not fit well with that.

The acreage is modest. According to the American agricultural statistics, Idaho 7 stood at 438 acres in Idaho and Washington in 2023 and at 410 acres in 2025: about 177 and 166 hectares.

A good starting point: a pale ale or IPA in which Idaho 7 is the only or main hop. First look for tropical fruit and apricot, and then for a drier edge of pine or black tea. If you smell onion or garlic, that may, according to the merchant Crosby Hops, indicate hops that were picked too late.

Hop aroma is fragile. So drink hoppy beers fresh and store them cool.