# Wai-iti



## Guysmiley54

> This hop has a reasonable weight of oil which is further enhanced as a ratio to alpha based on this variety being selected as a low alpha type to showcase its aroma characters which are startlingly of citrus made up of mandarin, lemon and lime zest..really intense. Low Coh adds to the overall quality of the finish which is soft.
> Analysis Wai-iti:
> Alpha 3.0
> Cohumulone 26.0
> Oils/gram alpha 437 uL/G


*MOD: *Post edited by Lord Raja Goomba I to insert hop description at the top. Original post below:

Has anyone tried the new NZ Wai-iti hop?

I got my first bag today and am brewing a version of this: http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...&recipe=199 but subbing NS for Wai-iti.

The CB description is:

Wai-iti Hops (Pellets 90gm)
Wai-iti Hop pellets. NZ - Crop 2011 (AA 2.8%) NEW VARIETY
High oil & low alpha low alpha Wai-ti showcases its aroma characters which are
startlingly of citrus made up of mandarin, lemon and lime zest..really intense.
Low Coh adds to the overall quality of the finish which is soft

Sounds fantastic  Will report back...


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## Acasta

Can't say i've tried them, but a 10min IPA with these... Dayum.


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## Guysmiley54

Acasta said:


> Can't say i've tried them, but a 10min IPA with these... Dayum.



At 2.8% you'd need 800-1000gm !! Very expensive but I can only imagine the intensity :beerbang:


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## Acasta

haha yeah definetly. With a Cohumulone of 26, this would be a great beer... for someone else to make. Im pretty sure it'd go green and add mouthfeel haha. :chug:
Definitely interested to hear how they go for you.


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## keifer33

I have got a bit of Galena (sub for any neutral bittering hop) that I will use as my 60 min addition and cram this in late.


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## Guysmiley54

keifer33 said:


> I have got a bit of Galena (sub for any neutral bittering hop) that I will use as my 60 min addition and cram this in late.



I did the same thing with Magnum for the bittering addition on Ross' Summer Ale hop schedule. Can't wait to try it!!


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## peas_and_corn

I guess if you make a lager you have to wai-iti while it cold crashes.


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## stef

^ Man. That was bad. :lol:


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## Nick JD

If they are anything like Kohatu, I won't be using them more than once.

Kohatu is BLAND. Smelled great in the boil ... completely lackluster in the APA.

Perfect hop for letting the malt shine...


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## Guysmiley54

Nick JD said:


> If they are anything like Kohatu, I won't be using them more than once.
> 
> Kohatu is BLAND. Smelled great in the boil ... completely lackluster in the APA.
> 
> Perfect hop for letting the malt shine...



I heard the Kohatu wasn't great so I stuck away from it. I grabbed a 90gm pack of Wai-iti, Rakau and Summer Saaz to try out. Why can I never seem to brew the same thing twice? Although, my Northern Brown is drinking so well I might have to do that one again REAL soon :chug:


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## Mearesy

I have an APA using Wai-iti in the fermenter at the moment. Smells amazing, and will report back once its on tap


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## Guysmiley54

72 hours after pitching I french pressed my aroma addition and added it to the fermenter.

:icon_drool2: 

WOWSERS! This is tasting very good right now  I held back the aroma addition to keep the c02 from driving off too many volatiles but I wanted to have the addition go through some fermentation as I think it seems to change the flavour in a positive way too.

As the blurb says, I'm getting strong mandarin flavours. Nice zesty citrus on the tip of the tongue too. I wish I had a keg system!!! I'll be waiting weeks to finish fermenting, CC, bottle and condition this one


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## Mearesy

Well my Wai-iti Pale ale is on tap... and tasting AWESOME! Lots of mandarin flavours, with some lemon/lime zest as well. A very unique hop - really enjoying this, it won't last long I'm sure.

This was also my first brew on my new braumeister - and one of my finest brews so far if I do say so myself :icon_drunk:


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## ged

Used it and Riwaka in a New World Wheat beer with Wy1010 - came up quite nice, subtle citrus flavours poking thru. I was light handed with the hops (20g or so of each at different times to 18 IBUs) so not necessarily expecting an in your face IPA aroma, but nonetheless happy with my first experience. Next time in an APA/IPA I might throw in a heap more to get a better feel for it.

Ged


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## jurule

I got some of these hops from a grower in Tassie. I had a Coopers Pale kit, 1.5kg LME and 200g crystal.
Just did a 50g addition at 10mins for total 20IBU. Gonna dry hop with the other 50g after a week.

Very keen to see how it goes. Didnt want anything bitter just a nice Pale Ale, something with nice aroma. Will update when done.


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## Brewer_010

I used wai-iti in a pale ale using california lager yeast, left it over Nov-Dec so it was lagering for 8 weeks and it was quite subdued, but a great flavour - mandarin(y) and soft bittering. Awesome on hot days.


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## Pennywise

Yeah I get a big mandarin hit and slight pineapple from this one, as a flameout addition anyway. Will give it another go a bit earlier in the boil, maybe a 20 min addition. Jury is still out on this one for me, might be good mixed with a bit of galaxy


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## Yob

Will have to check recipe for amounts but did an apa with galaxy, wai iti and citra, think it was my third ag, was frikkin awesome and an to make it again, will dIgor up the recipe, from memory I was aiming for an aipa but ended up a nice apa


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## bradsbrew

Picked up a 100g pack of this at the PUBS chrissy meeting was thinking of using it in an NZ Pils with some Saaz , along the line of hop rocker. Should make a good hot day ale.

Cheers


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## Bitches Brew

I was thinking about putting on an APA with Wai-iti hops. The descriptions of the flavour and aroma profile (having mandarin, lemon and lime zest) sounds pretty cool. I was interested to hear from folks who have used them to find out:
1) whether a little goes a long way (I don't want a hop bomb, just a balanced APA with good flavour and aroma)
2) do they work well in combination with other citrus hops like cascade or centennial or are they better with hops that are predominantly earthy or floral 
3) how do Wai-iti hops handle dry hopping. Are there any unusual flavours or aromas that come out when they are dry hopped (eg excessively grassy) 
4) do they benefit from having a bigger malt base or are they better off with a simpler grain bill.

I am happy to experiment with them, but I figured I may as well get an idea of what to expect before letting loose.


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## Bitches Brew

This hop isn't widely available in Oz so I thought that I would post some observations about my first shot at using it in an American pale ale. I am not a hop-head. I enjoy a bit of a bitter bite to balance my American pale ales and love a heady aroma of hops, but I don't aim for 50+ IBU in this style, so if that is your thing, this post probably won't help you much. 

To test this hop out I rigged my system to divide my wort into two kettles to create two separate brews. In one kettle I used a combination of zythos and amarillo and in the other I used Wai-iti. I didn't attempt to keep the bitterness levels equivalent between the brews, but rather aimed to use similar amounts of each hop to compare the intensity and nature of the flavour and aroma contributed by these hops. 

I employed first wort hopping to maximise the flavour coming out of early additions and soften the perceived bitterness of the brews (since I wasn't sure how high bitterness levels would effect my perception of the Wai-iti flavour and aroma). I also generously dry hopped.

As always the zythos/amarillo brew carried a strong citrus nose. The amarillo is dominant in this pairing. The bitterness was higher in this beer (45 IBU compared to 35 for the Wai-iti version).

The aroma and flavour contribution of Wai-iti was much more subdued than zythos/amarillo. However, I have to say that Wai-iti provides a really nice aroma and flavour. There were no grassy notes from the dry hopping. The flavour in my brew was definitely citrus. I didn't get any piney, herbal notes, but I'm not really that refined a judge of these things. I don't know whether I would say that I picked mandarin (as the product description claims), but it was certainly different to cascade, centennial and amarillo in the type of citrus aroma/flavour provided. 

If I repeated this brew I would definitely reduce the malt backbone that I used. I think that this really effects how hops are perceived. In a lighter bodied beer this would be a really nice addition. I would be careful pairing it with other citrus hops like amarillo, cascade and centennial because I think that they would tend to over power the Wai-iti. 

All in all, I'm quite happy with the hop and the brew.


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