Discontinued hop

[Rookie]

I bottled a bitter yesterday that was delicious. It was my latest smash with a hop I'd never used before: minstrel. When I looked to get more I found out that it was discontinued.

[saintmatty]

Minstrel is a dwarf variety that was discontinued a few years ago. Like you, I was disappointed cos I had enjoyed the beers I had used it in. Here is an article explaining why it was discontinued.

https://charlesfaram.com/ca/news/goodbye-to-minstrel/#

Two other dwarves, Flyer and Beata have also been discontinued. The acreage of other dwarves is decreasing. This is due to some varieties either not being so popular, having low yields or having low disease resistance.

This is a pity because I am a big fan of dwarves such as the popular First Gold, but also varieties like Pilot and Pioneer which are fairly scarce for home brewers to find these days.

[Cobnut]

You can grow your own First Gold - it’s known as Prima Donna if you want to buy a rhizome. Or ask someone who already has it growing to propagate one for you. I have this growing in my garden in Suffolk and it crops fairly well. If you would like a rhizome, I can have go at propagating one for you.

[Rookie]

It's just as well that it's discontinued. As it ages a bit it's getting kind of blah.