Southern Cross / Wai-iti In An Ale

[ploto]

I'd like to use Southern Cross and Wai-iti in an ale at around 30 ibu. I'm keen to make Wai-iti the main flavour & aroma, but I've not used either hop before so any suggestions from those with experience would be appreciated. My main concern is whether these two hops will work well together or if I should consider including something else. I have Nelson Sauvin, Motueka, Galaxy, US Cascade & Styrian Goldings on hand, plus 10g of Pacific Gem. I've just bottled a beer with Galaxy and Cascade so would like to avoid using them in a way that would dominate.

cheers.

 

[mr_tyreman]

Southern X is an extremely dank and typically NZ hop like, but on the extreme side of AA, my personal opinion is to ONLY use it as a bittering hop, i made an IPA with only southern X, its just the worst but its 9.0% and does the trick.

Im very keen to see how you go with it.

good luck

 

[Nick JD]

Southern Cross if over-used can be a bit Pine-O-Clean.

 

[ploto]

Cheers fellas, that's what I'd gathered about SC. Do you reckon 20 ibus of it as a 60min addition would be too much?

The wai-iti is under 4% so I was thinking of dropping a bit in every 5 mins from 30 onward to get another 10 ibus, then dry hop the rest of the pack. It's ambiguously described as both 'really intense' and as having a soft finish. Might whacking it all in might be too fruity?

 

[beachy]

Cheers fellas, that's what I'd gathered about SC. Do you reckon 20 ibus of it as a 60min addition would be too much?

The wai-iti is under 4% so I was thinking of dropping a bit in every 5 mins from 30 onward to get another 10 ibus, then dry hop the rest of the pack. It's ambiguously described as both 'really intense' and as having a soft finish. Might whacking it all in might be too fruity?

I would describe Waiti as having medium intensity.

Not as intense as US C hops or nelson sauvin and galaxy but also not subtle like noble hops.

If you want a APA style beer you can use a fair bit. I got a really nice tangerine flavour and aroma from it.

 

[jacknohe]

I would describe Waiti as having medium intensity.

Not as intense as US C hops or nelson sauvin and galaxy but also not subtle like noble hops.

If you want a APA style beer you can use a fair bit. I got a really nice tangerine flavour and aroma from it.

I'd agree. The intensity is lower than the American hops and you should use a little more. I've found it's about 1.5:1 gms of Wai-iti over your C hops. I will say that I love Wai-iti. It's the primary hop in my black IPA.

 

[ploto]

Sounds good, looks like the whole pack of wai-iti is going in.

cheers.

 

[barls]

just about to keg one of mine that had roughly 10 ibus from magnum and the rest from wai-ti. ended up being 90g in the cube and its beautiful in flavour.
looking forward to that one

 

[ploto]

For anyone interested I put this down as an extract brew last night.

3kg liquid light extract
300g dry wheat extract
200g dex
250g heritage crystal
Southern Cross (15.4%AA) 20g @ 40min (21ibu)
Wai-iti (3.3%AA) 90g - 13g @ 5min intervals from 30mins down to flame out.
10l boil for 31.5 ibu (1.35 HCF)
24l batch, 1.051 OG, S04 yeast.

 

[ploto]

I'm a few bottles into this now, still needs another week or so to settle down but the initial impression is... underwhelming.

It's very pleasant and there's a slight lemony taste (sweet lemony taste rather than citrusy) and a hint of melon, though not having had any prior experience with either of these hops I can't be sure quite what each is bringing to the party, but for 90g across the last 30mins I was hoping for something a bit more in-your-face.

I'm not a huge fan of lagers nor have I ever made one, but I wonder if wai-iti might be a good one to use for that style?