Saaz

Delicate, hay-like and faintly spicy, with the cinnamon-tea character that defines a Czech pilsner. Very low alpha and poor storage stability; buy it fresh or do not bother.

Aroma

Origin Czech Republic

Code SAZ

Bred by Unrecorded

Two or more independent sources

Smells like: Noble, Herbal, Spice, Cinnamon, Floral
Bitterness: Gentle (1.4–7.5% alpha)
In the glass: 80 beers here
Usually paired with: Tettnanger, Perle, Magnum
Swap it for: Hallertau Mittelfruh · compare them →

Brewing values

range on filetypicalbreeder or labmerchant

Alpha acid

1.4–7.5% typical 4.0

1.4 7.5

3 sources, spread of 6.1%

Hopsteiner2.8–3.5Data sheet last changed 2020-01-09.
BarthHaas1.4–7.5Range over the last 4 crop years.
Crosby Hop Farm1.4–7.5

Beta acid

2.5–5.5% typical 4.0

2.5 5.5

3 sources, spread of 3%

Hopsteiner3–5Data sheet last changed 2020-01-09.
BarthHaas2.7–5.5Range over the last 4 crop years.
Crosby Hop Farm2.5–5.5

Cohumulone

24–26% of alpha typical 25

24 26

1 source, spread of 2% of alpha

Hopsteiner24–26Data sheet last changed 2020-01-09.

Total oil

0.2–1 mL/100g typical 0.6

0.2 1

3 sources, spread of 0.8 mL/100g

Hopsteiner0.3–0.7Data sheet last changed 2020-01-09.
BarthHaas0.2–1Range over the last 4 crop years.
Crosby Hop Farm0.2–1

Alpha to beta runs about 1:1, which is what governs how fast the bitterness fades in storage.

Oil composition

Myrcene31.3%
Humulene26.5%
Farnesene17.3%
Other16.8%
Caryophyllene7.7%
Linalool0.4%

Normalised to 100% so this hop can be compared like for like. The published components sum to 103.9% of total oil in the source data.

Where it's grown

In 2025: 84 acres in Idaho. That's 84 acres. No. 8 by acreage in Idaho.

Acres by year

Year	Idaho
2015	—
2016	—
2017	withheld
2018	withheld
2019	140
2020	withheld
2021	330
2022	380
2023	380
2024	372
2025	84

Acres harvested, from the USDA NASS National Hop Report. Where America's hops grow →

Aroma

Noble
Herbal
Spice
Cinnamon
Floral
Tea
Grassy

How it gets used

Added at late boil, whirlpool.

Czech Pale Lager
Pilsner
Pale Lager
Munich Helles
Lambic
Saison
Weissbier

No concentrated lupulin format has been produced for this variety.

In the glass · 80 beers from 14 breweries

Fermentada* Aslan Brewing
The Long Dark Aslan Brewing
Šumava Aslan Brewing
Czech Style Amber Lager (Scuttlebutt Collaboration) Chuckanut Brewery
Boho Chic Boutique Cloudburst Brewing
Fresh Hop Happy Little Clouds Cloudburst Brewing
Happy Little Clouds Cloudburst Brewing
Have A Great Summer! Ale Cloudburst Brewing
Keller Whalez Cloudburst Brewing
Party Crashin’ Cloudburst Brewing
Passin’ Time Cloudburst Brewing
Quiet Lightning Cloudburst Brewing

All 80 beers with Saaz →

Brewed alongside · in 55 beers that use Saaz with other hops

Tettnanger 1527%
Perle 1222%
Magnum 1120%
Hallertau Mittelfruh 611%
Citra 59%
Mandarina Bavaria 47%
Saphir 47%
Mosaic 35%

Counted from the hop lists of every beer in What's in the can: what Pacific Northwest brewers actually put next to Saaz.

What to swap it for

Hallertau Mittelfruh brewer-tested 93

aroma 74 · oils 55 · chemistry 90
Aramis 72

aroma 68 · oils 68 · chemistry 81
Willamette 68

aroma 46 · oils 84 · chemistry 82
Adeena 68

aroma 65 · oils 60 · chemistry 79
Strisselspalt brewer-tested 66

aroma 65 · oils — · chemistry 92 partial data
Fuggle 65

aroma 53 · oils 62 · chemistry 84 · shifts aroma to dual

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. A protected-origin landrace of the Zatec region, centuries old.

For brewers and data folks: this hop as JSON · the source file · where America's hops grow