Mosaic

Mosaic is the brand name (Mosaic®) of the hop variety HBC 369 from the Hop Breeding Company in the Yakima Valley in Washington. According to the plant patent, Mosaic comes from a cross made in 2001 between Simcoe as the mother plant and a male plant numbered 986-2. According to the breeder, that father descends from Nugget, an American hop with high alpha acids. In 2006 one seedling was selected and then tested for years near Toppenish.

According to the patent, Mosaic is resistant to powdery mildew but not to downy mildew: two plant diseases of hops. According to Yakima Chief Hops, the name refers to the colourful mix of aromas and flavours the hop can give.

Independent research. In German research on 32 hop varieties, Mosaic, with Citra and Strata, was among the varieties with high levels of 3MH (rhubarb, grapefruit) and 4MMP (blackcurrant, passion fruit). Belgian researchers found more than 7 mg/kg of citronellol in Mosaic, which smells of lemon and lime; in this, Mosaic differed from the previously studied varieties Nelson Sauvin and Tomahawk. In a follow-up study by the same group, beer dry-hopped with Mosaic contained much more of the grapefruit-like thiol 3S4MP than the free thiols in the hops could explain. In the hops they also found bound precursors of 3MH, from which yeast can release the aroma compound. An Italian trial found more limonene and linalool in beer dry-hopped with Mosaic than in beer with the German Hallertauer Mittelfrüh.

What the breeder and the trade say. The patent mentions 'blueberry, citrus, fruity, tropical, floral'. According to Yakima Chief Hops, brewers often notice a lot of berry and citrus, with woody and spicy notes. In 2016 the Hop Growers of America mentioned pear, gooseberry, mandarin, lime and peach. So the descriptions vary quite a lot.

Mosaic has high alpha acids and is used both for bittering and for aroma: a dual-purpose hop. According to Yakima Chief Hops, it is suitable for beers with only one hop variety. You can find it as whole cones, pellets, cryo hop and CO2 extract.

With Mosaic too, the harvest matters. In American research on five varieties, ripeness at harvest had a particularly large influence for Sabro, Mosaic, Simcoe and Citra. Other research, on Cascade and Mosaic on 39 fields, found that soil, climate and growing methods clearly differ between Oregon and Washington, and that some of those factors are linked to the properties of the hops.

Similar hops according to Yakima Chief Hops: Citra, Simcoe, Centennial and the New Zealand Nelson Sauvin.

Mosaic is a child of Simcoe, which comes from the breeding programme of Yakima Chief Ranches. That breeder has worked with John I. Haas in the Hop Breeding Company since 2003. The cross was made in 2001. In 2007 there were seven plants, in 2010 seventy, and in 2010 and 2011 two trial fields of about 0.4 hectares each were planted. According to the breeder, Mosaic came on the market in 2012; the patent was granted at the end of 2013.

In 2025 there were 3,488 acres of Mosaic in the US, about 1,410 hectares. In 2023 it was still 5,276 acres. The whole American hop acreage shrank in those years, from 54,318 to 41,654 acres.

A good starting point: taste Mosaic in a pale ale or IPA with only this hop. Smell deliberately in different directions: berry, mandarin or other citrus, tropical fruit, and something woody or spicy. Because the descriptions vary so much, it is instructive to taste Mosaic alongside Citra or Simcoe. Simcoe is the mother of Mosaic. Hoppy beers are best drunk fresh.