Wakatu Hops?

Has anyone brewed with Wakatu hops? I searched, but didn't find any reviews here.

I'm planning on using 4oz. in my next batch unless someone tells me Wakatu is New Zealander slang for rubbish hops with a cool name.

pale malt
biscuit malt
sugar

Challenger for bittering
Wakatu for flavor/aroma
orange peel

Westmalle yeast
40-50ibu
8%

If you've brewed with Wakatu, could you provide a review?

Thanks in advance.

There are only a handful of commercial beers brewed with Wakatu at the moment. As one might expect, the reviews from people who rate beers vary wildly. If I took the collective sum of descriptors, it would be a long list of just about every flavor imaginable.

One reviewer who is pretty good at identifying flavor and aroma said it was floral, lemon and lime. Sounds good to me. Several people noted a vanilla cream soda character and these were different Wakatu beers.

However, another reviewer said it smelled like a dirty diaper. That beer was made by Sixpoint, so I don't think the diaper smell was from the hops.

Bells Brewing said:

New Zealand Wakatu (formerly NZ Hallertau Aroma)

Pedigree: Triploi aroma type bred by open pollination of Hallertau Mittelfruh and a NZ derived male

Brewing Usage: Dual Purpose
Aroma: Distinct floral, slight citrus/lime

Alpha Acids %: 6.5-8.5
Beta Acids %: 8.5
Co-Humolone: 28-30% of Alpha Acids
Total Oil: 1.0 mls/100g

General Trade Perception: Less spicy than the Hallertau Mittlefruh; able to retain its clean taste even in older beers

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But nothing beats the feedback of a person who has brewed with them. That includes NZ Hallertau. I didn't realize Wakatu is just a new fancy name for NZH.

Anyone?

I used them in conjunction with Galaxy in a Pale Ale. It has been among the better beers I've made. The flavoring additions at 15 and flameout were one ounce each Galaxy & Wakatu. No dirty diapers to speak of.

The beer is full of the tropical flavor you'd expect from Galaxy. I haven't detected much lemon lime, but I there are herbal & floral notes as well, perhaps courtesy of Wakatu.

Curious to know how your beer turns out.

Thanks for your reply. I'll update this thread. It will be a couple weeks before I brew it. I should be drinking it by late May or early June.

I brewed with Wakatu yesterday. The hops in the bag smelled like fresh lime zest. I used 2oz in the boil from 20-0 and 2oz. in a 117F aroma steep for 20 minutes. I used some Willamette too.

The wort smelled like limes with a little bit of floral. Now, I play the six week waiting game.

Wakatu is the NZ version of Hallertau. I found it to be very similar, but with much higher AA

Well, the Wakatu's juicy lime aroma didn't survive fermentation, but it made some lovely smells in my basement through the airlock.

I dry hopped with 4oz. of Hallertau Hersbrucker and got a nice floral aroma, but not huge.

The limey flavor of Wakatu was mild at 50ibu and with mostly late hopping. The bitterness was very smooth. Overall, it made a nice Belgian. It wasn't an aggressive hop, but it wasn't too mild either.

Randy_Bugger said:

I'm planning on using 4oz. in my next batch unless someone tells me Wakatu is New Zealander slang for rubbish hops with a cool name.

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Reviving this thread from its death, Wakatu is the Maori name for Nelson. Riwaka, and Motueka are also nearby placenames.

I just got 4 ounces of this. Going to give it a go. Probably with a SOSMaSH.

Sort of smash. Something cheap for bittering.

Just curious if anyone else brewed with Wakatu recently or has an update. I picked up 2 oz to dry hop my Mosaic Session IPA with. After reading this thread it doesn't sound like I will get much from it.

I have some in a saison that is fermenting now. I also added mandarin Bavaria as well. Smells insane. Will let you know what the results are.

I just tasted my Mosaic Session IPA dry hopped with 2 oz of Wakatu and it is fantastic. Nice citrus flavor with a hint a lime. Tastes better than the Mosaic Session IPA dry hopped with 2 oz of Mosaic along side of it. I will use this hop again. :rockin:

Northern Brewers kit "kiwi express" IPA uses wakatu. It's delicious IMO and there are several reviews concurring

I brewed a Euro style lager with Wakatu that is lagering right now. Magum to bitter and Wakatu to flavor/aroma. It's been lagering for a week now but I did sneak a taste and I definitely got some lime notes. I found it to be quite delicious. I'll update once it gets closer to being tapped.

I named it, Wakka Wakka Wakka!

Keep us posted on that Euro Lager. Sounds good. I was considering the same thing

trpr82 said:

Keep us posted on that Euro Lager. Sounds good. I was considering the same thing

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So I couldn't help myself and snuck a taste last night. It's actually only 9 days lagered but it tastes like a much much more flavorful Corona with lime if that makes sense. It's hard to explain, but it's fantastic!

OG 1.050
FG: 1.008
IBU: 32
Color: 5.0


10lbs Pilsner
2lbs Vienna
1lb Munich
16.4 IBU's of Magnum to bitter @ 60 min
1oz Wakatu @ 15
1oz Wakatu @ 5
Wyeast 2633 Oktoberfest lager blend

I've never thought of contributing a recipe to the recipe section of this site, but I may have to with this one. If anyone is thinking about using Wakatu hops, don't hesitate!

I can update here in a few weeks when it's ready to drink fully.

I just tasted a test batch with Wakatu. It was a test saison to try out the hop and to build a starter for another Belgian beer.

67% Pilsner
27% White Wheat Malt
9% Torrified Wheat

I got around 26 IBU with a 60 min and flameout addition. Fermented with the dregs stepped up from a bottle a Dupont Vieille Provision.

I think it is a earthy flavor with a slight touch of citrus zest when it warmed up(or maybe I convinced myself that by the time I finished the pint). It worked out great with the yeast.

Maple....I may have to brew this soon

Have any of you compared it against Hallertau? Does it taste the same? Stonger?

I know it has more AA but is the flavor profile the same?

Man I need to brew an IPA soon!

I did a Wakatu/2 Row SMaSH a while back. Turned out pretty good, but as you can imagine not much depth of flavor. Some lime zest aroma, but pretty faint. The flavor, while not overpowering was very noticeable. Clean, soft buttering.

I brewed and IPA with exactly the same quantity of Wakatu and Azacca. The result was my favourite IPA that I brewed ever. The problem is that this was the first time that I try with Azacca and Wakatu and the flavour and arome were very complex and I don't know which hop could dominate

I have in mind to repeat whit a single hop of each.

Hi Guys
I have some wakatu and some rakau, was thinking an all NZ IPA, what dya think? anyone used these together, was thinking add together right thro the boil.