This is not merely a tale of two experimental hop varieties. However, those two varieties are an excellent place to start.
First: Consider HBC 1134, an experimental cultivar from the Hop Breeding Company.
Ben Edmunds, cofounder and brewmaster of Breakside Brewing in Portland, Oregon, says he experienced an aha moment when he tasted an Italian-style pilsner from Radiant Beer of Anaheim, California. Radiant had dry hopped its pilsner with HBC 1134. Breakside had been struggling to find a hop that didn’t make the style taste grassy.
“Then 1134 came along,” Edmunds says. “It combined Noble-esque and American” character.
Breakside’s Italian-style pilsner, It’s A Me Mario!—hopped with HBC 1134—just won a gold medal at the 2026 World Beer Cup.