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?

 

[jayse]

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

 

[Muggus]

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.

 

[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 ....

 

[Kai]

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

 

[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!

 

[goomboogo]

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.

 

[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

 

[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

 

[roger mellie]

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

 

[RobB]

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.

 

[domonsura]

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.

 

[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

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[homekegger1]

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

Cheers

HK

 

[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).

 

[lastdrinks]

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?

 

[RobB]

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.

 

[lastdrinks]

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