# Rakau



## RobB

> Brewing Usage
> Dual Purpose
> 
> Aroma
> Fresh orchard fruits, specifically apricot with some resinous pine needle characteristics are noted
> 
> Possible Substitutions
> 
> Amarillo®
> Summit™
> 
> Typical Beer Styles
> 
> Ale
> 
> Additional Information
> 
> Released from the New Zealand Hop breeding program
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Alpha Acids
> 10.0 - 11.0%
> 
> Beta Acids
> 5.0 - 6.0%
> 
> 
> Co-Humulone
> ~24%
> 
> Total Oil
> ~2.2 mL / 100g
> 
> 
> Myrcene
> ~56% of total oil
> 
> Humulene
> ~16.3% of total oil
> 
> 
> Caryophyllene
> ~5.2% of total oil
> 
> Farnesene
> ~4.5% of total oil
> 
> 
> General Trade Perception
> Well suited for new world styles where brash fruity character and big, but well constructed bitterness is desired


*MOD: *Description entered by Lord Raja Goomba I, for consistency. Original post below:

I've exhausted my hop supplies and have decided to re-stock with previously untried kiwi varieties.

I know B and D Saaz and Nelson Sauvin have many fans on AHB, but a search on Rakau produces a fairly meagre and unhelpful list.

Any first hand opinions out there?


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## jayse

Looks like you can be the guinea pig, don't forget to weigh in with your thoughts. :lol:


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## Muggus

Malty Cultural said:


> I've exhausted my hop supplies and have decided to re-stock with previously untried kiwi varieties.
> 
> I know B and D Saaz and Nelson Sauvin have many fans on AHB, but a search on Rakau produces a fairly meagre and unhelpful list.
> 
> Any first hand opinions out there?


I'm in a similar boat to you Malty. Lots of Kiwi hops, but little knowledge.

I chucked some Rakau in my most recent APA, with equal measures of Southern Cross and Pacific Gem. 
But with 5g of each at 15, 5 and 0 min, I wasn't really going for a big hop flavour. It does taste quite tropical fruit-like though...but that could either of the hops.

I'm biding my time to make some single hop lagers/pale ales.


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## mika

I thought the Saaz D, b and the whole rest of the alphabet had been renamed to Rakau and whatever now that they're out of the 'research' phase ? Though I could be talking out of my ....


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## Kai

B and D are Motueka and Riwaka. Brewed a batch with Rakau right before a heatwave and some fires, was a tipper unfortunately


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## randyrob

I have my house amber on tap at the moment only late hooped with d-saaz it's going down very nicely, i say give it a go!


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## goomboogo

randyrob said:


> I have my house amber on tap at the moment only late hooped with d-saaz it's going down very nicely, i say give it a go!




D-Saaz (riwaka) and rakau are different hops. Malty cultural, if you have access to the Emmersons range of beer they do an imperial pilsner using rakau. I have a packet of rakau that i might use in combination with simcoe in an amber ale. I'll see how it goes.


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## roger mellie

My contribution to the case swap attempted to evaluate the Rakau hop - unfortunately it wasnt my best effort however from the few comments I got back and subsequent tasting of the last few bottles - I can report that it is similar to other Kiwi hops - with Stonefruit/Mineral characters - not overly herbaceous. I thought it was quite a delicate hop as opposed say D Saaz but it just lacked the je ne se quois - a bit bland - nothing overly outstanding to report.

Then again - the beer I made was pretty ordinary so that may have robbed from the hop load - quite likely.

I did single hop - I would think that mixing with something like Simcoe would be interesting - although maybe a strong US hop would overdominate. Maybe NS as a bittering hop and Rakau late would be a starter for 10??

I will try it again - in a Summer Ale - with another hop. In the Summer.

Cheers

RM


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## homekegger1

Malty,

I recently brewed a single hop ale using this. Below is the recipe I used, and it is a cracker. Have had some good feedback from it. I plan to brew this again.

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 23.00 L 
Boil Size: 26.33 L
Estimated OG: 1.047 SG
Estimated Color: 7.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 35.9 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU 
4.00 kg Pale Malt, Traditional Ale (Joe White) (3.Grain 86.96 % 
0.50 kg Munich I (Weyermann) (7.1 SRM) Grain 10.87 % 
0.10 kg Crystal, Dark (Joe White) (110.0 SRM) Grain 2.17 % 
15.00 gm Rakau Organic [11.50 %] (80 min) Hops 19.7 IBU 
15.00 gm Rakau Organic [11.50 %] (20 min) Hops 11.3 IBU 
20.00 gm Rakau Organic [11.50 %] (5 min) Hops 5.0 IBU 
40.00 gm Rakau Organic [11.50 %] (0 min) Hops - 
1 Pkgs US-05 Yeast-Ale 


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Full Body, No Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 4.60 kg
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Full Body, No Mash Out
Step Time Name Description Step Temp 
60 min Mash In Add 12.01 L of water at 74.7 C 68.0 C 


Here is a pic of the glass I just poured myself.




Cheers

HK


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## roger mellie

homekegger1 said:


> Malty,
> 
> I recently brewed a single hop ale using this. Below is the recipe I used, and it is a cracker. Have had some good feedback from it. I plan to brew this again.
> 
> Recipe Specifications
> --------------------------
> Batch Size: 23.00 L
> Boil Size: 26.33 L
> Estimated OG: 1.047 SG
> Estimated Color: 7.1 SRM
> Estimated IBU: 35.9 IBU
> Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
> Boil Time: 60 Minutes
> 
> Ingredients:
> ------------
> Amount Item Type % or IBU
> 4.00 kg Pale Malt, Traditional Ale (Joe White) (3.Grain 86.96 %
> 0.50 kg Munich I (Weyermann) (7.1 SRM) Grain 10.87 %
> 0.10 kg Crystal, Dark (Joe White) (110.0 SRM) Grain 2.17 %
> 15.00 gm Rakau Organic [11.50 %] (80 min) Hops 19.7 IBU
> 15.00 gm Rakau Organic [11.50 %] (20 min) Hops 11.3 IBU
> 20.00 gm Rakau Organic [11.50 %] (5 min) Hops 5.0 IBU
> 40.00 gm Rakau Organic [11.50 %] (0 min) Hops -
> 1 Pkgs US-05 Yeast-Ale
> 
> 
> Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Full Body, No Mash Out
> Total Grain Weight: 4.60 kg
> ----------------------------
> Single Infusion, Full Body, No Mash Out
> Step Time Name Description Step Temp
> 60 min Mash In Add 12.01 L of water at 74.7 C 68.0 C
> 
> 
> Here is a pic of the glass I just poured myself.
> 
> View attachment 27470
> 
> 
> Cheers
> 
> HK




looks excellent HK - what flavours did you think stood out? I got definite stonefruit. 

RM


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## RobB

roger mellie said:


> My contribution to the case swap attempted to evaluate the Rakau hop



So I have tasted it after all!

Well, after that forehead slapping moment I looked back at my notes for your beer RM and I quite enjoyed it. I seem to recall it being peachy with cracked pepper, which sort of fits with your description of minerally stonefruit.

I certainly enjoyed it enough to add to my order.

Thanks for the replies everyone.


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## domonsura

homekegger1 said:


> Malty,
> 
> I recently brewed a single hop ale using this. Below is the recipe I used, and it is a cracker. Have had some good feedback from it. I plan to brew this again.
> 
> Recipe Specifications
> --------------------------
> Batch Size: 23.00 L
> Boil Size: 26.33 L
> Estimated OG: 1.047 SG
> Estimated Color: 7.1 SRM
> Estimated IBU: 35.9 IBU
> Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
> Boil Time: 60 Minutes
> 
> Ingredients:
> ------------
> Amount Item Type % or IBU
> 4.00 kg Pale Malt, Traditional Ale (Joe White) (3.Grain 86.96 %
> 0.50 kg Munich I (Weyermann) (7.1 SRM) Grain 10.87 %
> 0.10 kg Crystal, Dark (Joe White) (110.0 SRM) Grain 2.17 %
> 15.00 gm Rakau Organic [11.50 %] (80 min) Hops 19.7 IBU
> 15.00 gm Rakau Organic [11.50 %] (20 min) Hops 11.3 IBU
> 20.00 gm Rakau Organic [11.50 %] (5 min) Hops 5.0 IBU
> 40.00 gm Rakau Organic [11.50 %] (0 min) Hops -
> 1 Pkgs US-05 Yeast-Ale
> 
> 
> Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Full Body, No Mash Out
> Total Grain Weight: 4.60 kg
> ----------------------------
> Single Infusion, Full Body, No Mash Out
> Step Time Name Description Step Temp
> 60 min Mash In Add 12.01 L of water at 74.7 C 68.0 C
> 
> 
> Here is a pic of the glass I just poured myself.
> 
> View attachment 27470
> 
> 
> Cheers
> 
> HK



Beautiful beer this one, HK's been hiding his best beers out the back the sneaky bugger....

I found this beer to be nicely balanced malt/hops with a stonefruit background that was hard to put my finger on. I got almost an apricoty thing from it, but not quite. (Not a real helpful description, right?)
Beautiful colour too. Going to christen my new brewery with this one this weekend, very very nice.


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## homekegger1

Thanks Dom. I am glad you enjoyed it and are using it as your maiden brew on the new set-up.

Roger, As for flavour I am definitely getting a nice fruityness to it. Could certainly be described as a stonefruit flavour for sure. All I know is I like this beer alot and will be making it again.

Cheers

HK


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## Josh

I made an easy drinking Summer Ale with all Rakau. Pretty subdued stonefruit flavours from memory. 

I did another ale in the Summer using half Rakau and Galaxy and the Galaxy dominated.

My suggestion would be in a light lager. Given the high aa% you could just add 1g/L at 5 minutes and then the rest of the bittering addition at 20 minutes.


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## RobB

After a few false starts and an unplanned trip to Jakarta, I finally took this hop for a test drive over the weekend. It was meant to be Homekegger's recipe, but ended up being a bit of a cupboard cleaner as I ran out of ale malt. I made up the difference with leftovers of pils, munich and a touch of wheat but kept the same OG and IBUs.

There's a definite stone fruit aroma from these hops, much like a subdued Amarillo. However there's also an earthy pepper aroma as well which I quite like. I'll know for sure in a few weeks, but my first impressions are very positive.


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## homekegger1

Look forward to hearing how this turns out. Hopeit as good as mine. ;P

Cheers 

HK


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## RobB

I had the first bottle tonight and, as has been mentioned a few times in this thread already, the dominant aroma is apricots. There's something else in there too which I can't quite pick - orange blossom?

I used homekegger's recipe as a guide and made a single hop ale, but I think this hop would also be fantastic in combination with any other fruity varieties.

What really stood out was the smooth bitterness. It's 11.5% AA with low cohumulone so it makes a fantastic early addition.

I think I'll use the rest of this packet in combination with Riwaka (the next hop on my must-try list).


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## lastdrinks

Malty Cultural said:


> I had the first bottle tonight and, as has been mentioned a few times in this thread already, the dominant aroma is apricots. There's something else in there too which I can't quite pick - orange blossom?
> 
> I used homekegger's recipe as a guide and made a single hop ale, but I think this hop would also be fantastic in combination with any other fruity varieties.
> 
> What really stood out was the smooth bitterness. It's 11.5% AA with low cohumulone so it makes a fantastic early addition.
> 
> I think I'll use the rest of this packet in combination with Riwaka (the next hop on my must-try list).




Do you rate it highly for its flavour/aroma qualities?


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## RobB

lastdrinks said:


> Do you rate it highly for its flavour/aroma qualities?



Yes I do. It didn't pack a massive punch - not as much as some of the other fruity hops such as Amarillo, so perhaps it has a lower oil content. But the flavour and aroma still shone through. It's good by itself and I think it would be even better in partnership with with some of the more citrussy hops.


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## lastdrinks

Slowly getting my act together to buy a bunch of NZ hops, sounds like i should put this one on the list.


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## homekegger1

Malty Cultural said:


> I had the first bottle tonight and, as has been mentioned a few times in this thread already, the dominant aroma is apricots. There's something else in there too which I can't quite pick - orange blossom?
> 
> I used homekegger's recipe as a guide and made a single hop ale, but I think this hop would also be fantastic in combination with any other fruity varieties.
> 
> What really stood out was the smooth bitterness. It's 11.5% AA with low cohumulone so it makes a fantastic early addition.
> 
> I think I'll use the rest of this packet in combination with Riwaka (the next hop on my must-try list).




Glad to hear you liked it Malty. It was certainly one of my more fave brews. I will have to bulk buy this hop to make a ton of the stuff.

Cheers

HK


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## peter.brandon

All,

I am considering using this hop "Rakau" in a Kolsch recipe???? Worth a shot?

4kg Pilsner
0.5kg Munich
0.25kg Wheat
0.20kg Carapils

Rakau schedule
10g @ 60mins
10g @ 20mins
10g @ 10mins
10g @ 5mins

Should be about a 30IBU and 5.2%

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Cheers,
Plyers


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## jbirbeck

Plyers said:


> All,
> 
> I am considering using this hop "Rakau" in a Kolsch recipe???? Worth a shot?
> 
> 4kg Pilsner
> 0.5kg Munich
> 0.25kg Wheat
> 0.20kg Carapils
> 
> Rakau schedule
> 10g @ 60mins
> 10g @ 20mins
> 10g @ 10mins
> 10g @ 5mins
> 
> Should be about a 30IBU and 5.2%
> 
> Any thoughts or suggestions?
> 
> Cheers,
> Plyers



That's not a Kolsch...

The hops will work well although I found them a little light on the flavour and aroma compared to other hops and I used 40g at flame out and 35 in the 20-10 minute bracket. looks like a nice beer.


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## peter.brandon

Rooting Kings said:


> That's not a Kolsch...
> 
> The hops will work well although I found them a little light on the flavour and aroma compared to other hops and I used 40g at flame out and 35 in the 20-10 minute bracket. looks like a nice beer.




Thanks Rooting Kings! I will beef up the late hop schedule.

FYI - the recipe is a Jamil Zainasheff rip off  
http://beerdujour.com/Recipes/Jamil/JamilsKolsch.htm

Cheers,
Plyers


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## Yob

Bump... the quiet acheiver

anybody further to the ancient text above? I just got myself a packet and 'pray' it's here for the weekend, might use it with Citra and a bit of Chinook for the bittering

cmon australia post, dont let me down now!!

Yob


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## donburke

for the record i found this hop very very subtle, even after a few fistfuls of the stuff late in the boil

not unpleasant, just can hardly taste it


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## bum

Hmmm...using them for the first time today. Good timing on the bump, yob. May go harder than I originally intended. Dunno. Urgh!


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## Gar

I've got a cube of Half-Wit with Rakau sitting around that I've been itching to pitch, really looking forward to trying it .

Recipe:

29L batch
OG: 1.049
IBU: 30

3.1 kg Golden Promise
3.1 kg Wheat Malt
0.2 kg Crystal (90 EBC)

11g Rakau - First Wort
22g Rakau - 15 mins
32g Rakau - 5 mins
45g Rakau - Dry Hop


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