Comet
BarthHaas describes it as quince, elderflower, passion fruit, gooseberry, guava.
- Smells like
- Orchard fruit, Elderflower, Passionfruit, Gooseberry, Guava
- Bitterness
- High (8–12.4% alpha)
- In the glass
- 51 beers here · 2 fresh hop
- Swap it for
- Nugget · compare them →
Brewing values
Alpha acid
8–12.4% typical 10.2
3 sources, spread of 4.4%
- Hopsteiner8–10.5Data sheet last changed 2020-01-09.
- BarthHaas9.4–12.4Range over the last 4 crop years.
- Crosby Hop Farm9–12
Beta acid
3–6.1% typical 4.5
3 sources, spread of 3.1%
- Hopsteiner3–6Data sheet last changed 2020-01-09.
- BarthHaas3–6.1Range over the last 4 crop years.
- Crosby Hop Farm3–6
Cohumulone
34–37% of alpha typical 35.5
1 source, spread of 3% of alpha
- Hopsteiner34–37Data sheet last changed 2020-01-09.
Total oil
1–2 mL/100g typical 1.5
1 source, spread of 1 mL/100g
- Hopsteiner1–2Data sheet last changed 2020-01-09.
Alpha to beta runs about 2.3:1, which is what governs how fast the bitterness fades in storage.
Oil composition
Not enough of this hop's oil is accounted for to show a breakdown. The sources on file name components totalling 47.2% of total oil — most of the balance is myrcene, which the source for this record doesn't publish. Rather than scale what's here up to 100% and invent the rest, here is only what was actually measured:
Where it's grown
In 2025: 209 acres in Washington, withheld in Idaho (NASS withholds a figure when it would identify a single farm). That's at least 209 acres.
Acres by year
| Year | Washington | Idaho |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 108 | — |
| 2016 | 163 | withheld |
| 2017 | 205 | withheld |
| 2018 | 218 | withheld |
| 2019 | 210 | 112 |
| 2020 | 330 | 93 |
| 2021 | 386 | 146 |
| 2022 | 327 | 144 |
| 2023 | 175 | 108 |
| 2024 | 159 | withheld |
| 2025 | 209 | withheld |
Acres harvested, from the USDA NASS National Hop Report. Where America's hops grow →
Aroma
In the glass · 51 beers from 13 breweries
- Flow State: Fresh Hop Reuben's Brews · fresh hop
- Comet Fresh Hop Fiend IPA 2026 Stoup Brewing · fresh hop
- Uno Más 7 Seas Brewing
- Synergy Series Block 15 Brewing
- Giuseppe Warlock Double IPA Breakside Brewery
- Rainbows & Unicorns Breakside Brewery
- Pale Ale Chuckanut Brewery
- Beautiful Distraction IPA Cloudburst Brewing
- Below the Surface IPA Cloudburst Brewing
- Crushcade Blast IPA Cloudburst Brewing
- Free Taste* IPA Cloudburst Brewing
- Going Public IPA Cloudburst Brewing
Brewed alongside · in 49 beers that use Comet with other hops
Counted from the hop lists of every beer in What's in the can: what Pacific Northwest brewers actually put next to Comet.
What to swap it for
Scored on aroma overlap, oil composition and acid chemistry, then nudged up where a brewer has vouched for the swap by hand. An axis we haven't measured earns nothing, so a hop known only by its acid numbers caps out around 30 — the score is how much evidence there is for the swap, not just how close the numbers happen to be. Anything under 50 is a different beer, not a substitution.
Pedigree
Parentage unrecorded.
Notes on this record
purpose defaulted to dual, unconfirmed -- was not researched individually for this bulk scaffold pass. Correct before publishing.
For brewers and data folks: this hop as JSON · the source file · where America's hops grow