Olicana was released by Charles Faram as part of the same modern breeding effort that produced Jester, aimed at giving English growers a broader range of tropical-and-citrus-forward options rather than relying on a single variety to cover that entirely new-to-England aromatic territory. Its name references Olicana, the Roman-era name for the area around modern Ilkley in Yorkshire, tying it to a specific English growing region in the same way traditional variety names often do.
At 6.5-8.5% alpha acid, Olicana runs somewhat lower than Jester, with a tropical fruit and mild citrus aroma that reads slightly more restrained and less assertive than its sibling variety — a genuine point of difference within this small but growing family of modern English "New World style" hops, giving brewers a choice between Jester's boldness and Olicana's comparative subtlety.
Olicana's alpha stays comparatively restrained next to its bolder sibling Harlequin from the same breeding program, worth confirming with the IBU calculator on any bittering-adjacent use. Jester is the closest sibling substitute given the shared breeding origin and general aromatic territory, while Amarillo offers an American comparison for the citrus side specifically. English-brewed hazy IPA and modern pale ale both use Olicana, often alongside Jester in a blended dry hop rather than as the sole aroma variety. Its alpha range sits comfortably inside both Jester's wider spread and Cascade's, narrow enough that Olicana behaves more predictably from lot to lot than either of its usual substitutes.