CTZ lineage is a total mystery, being an open pollination seedling discovered in a nursery. Guesses by the breeders suggest she is related to the grande dame, Brewer’s Gold. Since she has such high alpha acid and pungent character it isn’t a difficult stretch to believe she’s related to the other daughters like Galena, Nugget, Chinook, Centennial, etc.
Epic, superhero-like bittering prowess. It wasn’t until the big IPA boom for the mid ’00s that CTZ became a big-hitter and highly sought. High alpha obviously makes CTZ a go-to bittering hop yet the dank aromatics resulting from the thiol compounds boil off easily leaving an aggressive alpha and phenol bitterness that will linger considerably.
The oil profile of CTZ does not adequately reflect the aroma, mostly due to the high thiol (sulfur) compounds that many find reminiscent of onions, garlic, cat pee and the like. However these compounds are very heat unstable and will flash when added to the hot side; the earlier the better. She also exhibits very high oil content that only adds to her pungency.
12% to 16%
Wisconsin average 14.2%
4.5 to 6.5%
Wisconsin average 5.2%
2.5 ml/100gm
Myrcene ~ 35%
Humulene ~ 20%
Caryophyllene ~ 10%
Farnesene ~ trace
CTZ is a hop of many hidden aromas depending on addition timing. The thiols are primarily responsible for her pungency but being very volatile they diminish rapidly during the boil. Early additions should produce a clean yet strong generic “hop” flavor and a herbal nose with just a touch of pungency.
Anything that can stand up to a strong bittering and phenol flavor. Typically Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, Galena, Brewer’s Gold.
CTZ is something akin to a bulldozer. She can push just about any other hop around.
CTZ has a split personality and her aggressive side comes out to play when she’s cold. There is very little thiol loss (some due to oxidation during maturation) from cold additions and dry hopping so expect a massive blast of pungent funk and feline perfume. Too much will overwhelm any other character added on the cold side so a gentle hand is prudent.
Very strong aroma players like Nelson Sauvin, Chinook, Galena, Moutuka.
Like on the hot side, CTZ is a brute. She has no problem pushing everyone else around.
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