The following was posted by Jim Liddil to the Homebrew Digest (Aug. 25, 1997).
Back in HOMEBREW Digest #2477 Tue 05 August 1997 Andy Walsh mentioned anarticle from J. Inst Brew (vol 103, p. 239, 1997). Various postsand comments ensued. I obtained a copy of this article and have donesome research via phone and e-mail to various individuals. Some of youmay want to review the original post as well as the posts from the Haastech. director. As a toxicologist I have a more than passingfamiliarity with the techniques and methods mentioned in the article.This post will be long.
From the article:
"Chromatograms of essential oils of Tettnanger from Oregon andWashington and Fuggle from Oregon, from the 1990 crop are shown inFigure 1. The chromatograms are almost identical. Experiences haveshown that small differences are present when comparing chromatogramsknown to be from the same variety.
From the conclusions:
"All the samples of USA Tettnager appeared to be Fuggle which suggeststhat much if not all of the crop is labeled wrongly. It is likely thatmistakes were made during the propogation and selction of this varietyand checks to confirm the variety by chemical analysis were not made.The acceptance and use of Fuggle by brewers under a Tettnanger labelalso brings into question the true value of fine aroma hops. UsuallyFuggle is not considered to be of the same rank as Saaz or Tettnager,but appears to have been accepted as such by some brewers"I contacted various people via e-mail and phone and it was suggestedthat this was not "news" to them. I contacted the USDA ARS Hoperesearch analysis lab. I asked the people their point blank. Is USTettnager the same as US Fuggle. I was told that indeed this was thecase and they had known about it for years. Now you might then ask whyisn't anything being done about this. First the Hop research lab isexactly that. A research lab, not into enforcing labeling laws, etc. SoI then call the USDA commodities dept. in Oregon. I was told that withmost agricultural products the laws are all designed and put in place bythe producers. Self-regulation.
So then I asked about hops and variety labeling. I was told that inOregon there are no laws in place to prevent hop growers and brokersfrom calling a variety of hops by any name they choose. The wheatgrowers do have laws in place to prevent growers from selling soft whitewheat as red hard wheat. Hops producers have no such laws. From myconversation with the Hop analysis lab I gathered that little would bedone unless pressure is put on the hop growers and brokers and bigbrewers to set the situation straight. This requires that organizationslike the AOB (aha advisors are you listening?), IBS, magazines like BTand Zymurgy, homebrewers, and craftbrewers put pressure on the hopsgrowers to institute variety labeling regulations. Complain to yourhomebrew shop owner, send e-mail to the hop brokers via their web pages(haas and hopunion have pages), go to Tinseths Hop page and from therego to the Oregon Hop commission page and send them e-mail. Let them knowthat you think this situation needs to be corrected. And for nowrealize that if you buy USA Tettnager you are getting USA Fuggle. THEREIS NO SUCH THING AS TETTNANGER GROWN IN THE USA THAT IS DERIVED FROMGERMAN TETTNANGER HOPS.
