Pekko
High alpha with a clean, floral and fruity aroma and a herbal streak of mint and basil, per Charles Faram's spec sheet. Named after the Finnish god of barley and brewing.
- Smells like
- Floral, Mint, Herbal, Citrus
- Bitterness
- Very high (14–16% alpha)
- In the glass
- 8 beers here
- Swap it for
- Styrian Eureka · compare them →
Brewing values
Alpha acid
14–16% typical 15
1 source, spread of 2%
- Charles Faram14–16
Beta acid
3.5–4.5% typical 4
1 source, spread of 1%
- Charles Faram3.5–4.5
Cohumulone
27–30% of alpha typical 28.5
1 source, spread of 3% of alpha
- Charles Faram27–30
Alpha to beta runs about 3.8:1, which is what governs how fast the bitterness fades in storage.
Oil composition
- Myrcene78.9%
- Humulene21.1%
Normalised to 100% so this hop can be compared like for like. The published components sum to 64% of total oil in the source data.
Where it's grown
In 2025: 834 acres in Washington. That's 834 acres. No. 10 by acreage in Washington.
Acres by year
| Year | Washington |
|---|---|
| 2015 | — |
| 2016 | withheld |
| 2017 | withheld |
| 2018 | 92 |
| 2019 | withheld |
| 2020 | 801 |
| 2021 | 1,070 |
| 2022 | 1,084 |
| 2023 | 1,045 |
| 2024 | withheld |
| 2025 | 834 |
Acres harvested, from the USDA NASS National Hop Report. Where America's hops grow →
Aroma
In the glass · 8 beers from 3 breweries
- Kernza Lager Aslan Brewing
- Love the Land Aslan Brewing
- Love The Land Aslan Brewing
- Mane Attraction* Aslan Brewing
- Math Rock Aslan Brewing
- Skid Vicious Aslan Brewing
- Chekov Georgetown Brewing
- Molly IPA Triceratops Brewing
Brewed alongside · in 5 beers that use Pekko 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 Pekko.
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 -- only a merchant describes its role so far.
For brewers and data folks: this hop as JSON · the source file · where America's hops grow