Hop variety named `Columbus`

A new and distinct variety of hop, Humulus lupulus L., named Columbus, has a superior yield of cones and a superior content of alpha acids in its resin. The new variety was cultivated as a result of a cross at a nursery near Prosser, Wash., United States, and has been asexually reproduced in and about Yakima, Wash., United States.

TECHNICAL FIELD 
The field of the present invention is hops. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Of conventional hop varieties, there are at least twenty named commercially 
grown hop varieties in the United States today, and some seventy-five to 
eighty varieties that are grown around the world. The varieties differ as 
to assorted physical features such as vine color and structure, as well as 
cone number, location, size and shape. 
Commercial varieties of hop are female hops that exist as a perennial 
rootstock that produces an annual flush of above-ground, or aerial, 
vegetation. The perennial rootstock is comprised of a woody crown with a 
number of main roots and sub-roots that are used for water uptake, 
nutrient uptake, and winter starch storage. Over the winter, the woody 
crown supports many buds that develop into main vines (shoots) in the 
spring, emerge from the ground, and extend to produce the annual 
above-ground vegetation. In nature, with the onset of frosts in the fall, 
the above-ground portion of the plant "dies-back" to ground level, and 
only the perennial rootstock survives into the following year. 
A main vine consists of a single flexible cylinder that produces pairs of 
leaves at nodes separated by variable distances along the length of the 
vine. The length of main vine between a pair of nodes is known as an 
internode. A bud is produced in the junction between leaf and vine, which 
junction is also known by the botanical term axil. Such a botanical term, 
as well as other botanical terms herein, are generally known to those of 
skill in the art, and can also be found in standard botanical texts such 
as Simon, E.W., et al., Lawson's Textbook of Botany--Revised, University 
Tutorial Press Ltd., London, England, 14th Ed. 1966. The bud grows and 
develops into a lateral, also known as a side-shoot or side-arm, with the 
same basic vegetative structure as the main vine. The buds on the laterals 
develop into groups of flowers that later mature into cones (strobiles). 
Because the laterals produce and support the cones of the hop, the 
structure of the laterals strongly influences the number of cones produced 
and hence the ultimate commercial yield of a variety. 
The cones are the useful brewing commodity, and are referred to as "hops" 
in the commercial industry. Each cone is a group of flowers 
(inflorescence) consisting of sepals and petals (bracts and bracteoles) 
mounted on a central strig (or rachis). The resultant structure resembles 
a small pine cone or fir cone but is non-woody and green in color. In 
nature, the bracteoles support the seed of the plant. 
Complete descriptions of the botanical structure of the hop plant are given 
in Burgess, "Hops--Botany, Cultivation and Utilization," Weed Crop Series, 
Interscience Publishers, Inc., New York, 1964 and Neve, "Hops," von 
Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1991. 
A trellis of poles and wire, commonly 18 feet in height and known as a 
"high trellis," supports strings that the main vines climb. The main vines 
grow to the top of the trellis, where they produce the laterals that 
support the groups of flowers that develop into the cones. Typically, the 
laterals bear cones only in the upper parts of the plant (i.e., closer to 
the main vine); the distance from the main vine varies from one variety to 
another. Under an alternative growing system, the "HopUnion Low Trellis 
Hop Growing System," the vines are grown on a trellis of single rows of 10 
feet in height, like wine grapes (the 10 foot trellis is referred to 
herein as a "low trellis"). (Lewis, "The HopUnion U.S.A., Inc.--Low 
Trellis Hop Production System," Proc. Tech. Comm. of the IHGC of the 
XXXVIIIth International Hop Congress, Hereford, U.K. Published 
Rijksstation voor Landbouwtechniek, Merelbeke/Gent, Belgium, 17-37, 1990.) 
Under either system, when the cones are physiologically mature (ripe), the 
cones are harvested, then dried and compressed into bales for market, 
where the cones are typically used for the productuion of beverages such 
as beers, ales and related alcohol-containing liquids. 
Different varieties of hops have differences in the chemical constituents 
of the lupulin of their cones. Accordingly, chemical analysis of such 
differences can be useful in distinguishing one hop variety from another. 
Such analysis is generally performed by high pressure liquid 
chromatography ("HPLC") of the soft resins along with gas liquid 
chromatography ("GLC") of the essential oils. Recently, Kenny developed a 
key for differentiation of hop varieties based on chemical analysis of the 
soft resins. (Kenny, "Identification of U.S. Grown Hop Cultivars by Hop 
Acid and Essential Oil Analyses," J. Amer. Soc. Brewing Chemists 
48(1):3-8, 1990.) Further, Peacock and McCarty, as well as Kenny, have 
developed keys for the differentiation of hop varieties based on chemical 
analysis of the essential oils. (Peacock and McCarty, "Varietal 
Identification of Hops and Hop Pellets," Master Brewer Assoc. of the 
Americas Technical Quarterly 27:81-85, 1992; Kenny, supra.) These keys are 
based on gross differences in the amounts of, and ratios between, major 
constituents, which differences are large enough to overcome variation 
inherent in the analytical analysis of biological material. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides a new variety of hop (Humulus lupulus L.), 
which has been named `Columbus`. The new variety comprises a superior 
yield of cones and, as discussed below, a superior content of alpha acids 
in its soft resins. Columbus is particularly suited for the production of 
beverages such as beers, ales and related alcohol-containing liquids.