Magnum Hop: Privately Investigated

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I love old classic cars. I’ve even attempted to restore a couple. As a kid, I fell in love with the Ferrari 308 GTS – an iconic vehicle of its time, but what truly secured it in history was the equally iconic (you know where I’m going with this) Magnum P.I.

So, tenuous link aside, this issue of MASHED! Magazine is looking into the Magnum hop.

Magnum originated in Germany but is also grown in the USA and now in the UK! It’s squeaky clean bitterness – no similarity here to our moustached friend (the original Magnum, Tom Selleck, obviously, not the less hairy remake) – has made this hop very popular across Europe with clean and crisp lagers.

We’ve just had our first year’s harvest of Magnum and it has proved to live up to its expectations. Magnum is a robust plant with a good yield, so if you’re looking for a decent hop to grow in your garden or allotment then look no further.

Like the P.I., this hop should become a staple for your Saturday prime time brew. It’s primarily used for bittering but more and more breweries and homebrewers are experimenting with using it for dry hopping. A good example is the Sierra Nevada’s Torpedo IPA. The dry hopping here allows the flavours and aroma of citrus, pepper and nutmeg to come through without adding additional bitterness. It may not give you the punch of the high alphas but it’s suitable for almost any brew whether its a clean crisp lager or a milky stout.

Alpha acid composition: 12 – 14%
Beta acid composition: 4.5 – 5.5%