Harlequin was released by Charles Faram, completing a small trio with Jester and Olicana of modern English hops bred specifically to compete in the fruit-forward, New World-style aroma-hop space that traditional English varieties were never designed to occupy. Of the three, Harlequin carries both the highest alpha acid and a berry-forward character distinct from its two siblings' more citrus-and-tropical lean.
Harlequin's alpha acid runs meaningfully higher than siblings Jester or Olicana (9-11.5%), with mixed berry and mild citrus notes that give it more in common with some of the American berry-forward proprietary hops than with anything from England's traditional Golding-and-Fuggle vocabulary. That higher alpha acid also makes it more practically useful for a full bittering charge than its two lower-alpha siblings. Harlequin was released in 2019, several years after Jester (2013) and Olicana (2014) had already established the trio's New World-style reputation among English growers. Jester and Olicana both serve as the closer sibling substitutes for general "New World style" English character, while an American berry-forward hop like Ella offers a loose aromatic parallel from an entirely different growing tradition. Modern English-brewed IPA and hazy IPA both use Harlequin, usually where its berry note can register clearly against a simpler malt bill. Harlequin's alpha floor sits above both Jester's and Olicana's ceilings, the clearest sign of the three Charles Faram siblings that it was bred with real bittering capacity in mind, not just aroma.