Traditionally, most beers are brewed with a variety of hops. However, recently there was been a change in the brewing process with an intent on focusing only on one individual variety of hops per beer. The idea is that they want beer drinkers and fanatics to develop a finer palette. The desire is for beer drinkers to develop an acute and distinct taste for each individual variety of hops.
One brewery who is particularly practicing this new brew philosophy is Samuel Adams. In their new Latitude 48 IPA Deconstructed 12-pack which retails for approximately fourteen dollars - they use five different international hop varieties. The five varieties of hops are England's East Kent Goldings, Germany's Hallertau Mittelfrueh, and Washington State's Simcoe, Zeus and Ahtanum. Each of these varieties of hops is mixed with the same component base beer which allows beer drinkers to compare the difference in the hops' varieties. For example, Ahtanum supports a nice, flavorful grapefruit taste while the Simcoe hops are burst full of pine and citrus.