Waimea

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I put down two kegs of my Waimea smash last weekend. The glass I sampled while filtering was nice, quite a sharp bitterness but pleasant, and flavour came through nicely as well. I'll try a few of these this weekend, as I did two kegs and may dry hop one depending on how it comes out.

Batz
 
I cracked one of my waimea beers this morn (SHHHH!)........ Awesome!!!!! Cant put my finger on it yet but something isnt right. gonna give it a couple more weeks to settle down then i will report back. Tell you what, i'm definately ordering more of this hop.
 
I cracked one of my waimea beers this morn (SHHHH!)........ Awesome!!!!! Cant put my finger on it yet but something isnt right. gonna give it a couple more weeks to settle down then i will report back. Tell you what, i'm definately ordering more of this hop.

Yes, but what did it taste like?! Similar to...?
 
Just pulled the first beer from my Waimea keg. Yes i know it's 2 in the morning, and i've just opened the keg...

Righto, firstly i reckon the basic Craftbrewer descriptor of Fruity Citrus and Pine is right on the money.

I've never tasted a hop like this. It's quite florally sweet flavourwise.

My recipe is on either page two or three, it's the one where i decided to go with a dry hop as i had zero aroma at end of ferment.

Still pretty much zero aroma. The bittering doesn't stand out at all, so i reckon this hop shines as a flavour addition. This particular beer is beautifully balanced on the bittering side of things though. I don't actually notice it, but it's not dominated by the malt either.

I'm calling 30min or less with a chiller, or for those dirty no chillers (like me) this hop would probably work well as a really late addition or even a 100% cube hop smash.

10min Waimea SMASH anyone? Would go awesome i reckon.

I use lots of Nelson Sauvin and Motueka...It's much closer to Motueka to my palate. Both can have the florally element going on, but NS is way bigger on aroma (as is Citra - unmistakable), whereas this Waimea has that earthy quality to it that NS doesn't have, kind of similar to Motueka, but initially the Waimea is "sweeter"....can't quite put my finger on it. Very weak on the aroma front.

Bottom line is this....if you've brewed with Motueka a fair bit, you'll love this hop as a variant, but i'd recommend to go a bit harder than you normally would as it doesn't come through as much as the AA% would have you believe.

Next time i'm gonna add 25% right across all additions and see how that goes.

Go hard with this hop chaps, she doesn't bite!
 
We have been producing single hopped, single grain bitters for the handpumps around Brisbane under the "Golden Bitter" moniker
The latest uses Waimea & will be kegged Wednesday week. Will give feedback once kegged & should be on handpump at The Scratch shortly afterwards...

Ross, does any of your beer make it onto Sydney taps? If so, where?
 
Just pulled the first beer from my Waimea keg. Yes i know it's 2 in the morning, and i've just opened the keg...

Righto, firstly i reckon the basic Craftbrewer descriptor of Fruity Citrus and Pine is right on the money.

I've never tasted a hop like this. It's quite florally sweet flavourwise.

My recipe is on either page two or three, it's the one where i decided to go with a dry hop as i had zero aroma at end of ferment.

Still pretty much zero aroma. The bittering doesn't stand out at all, so i reckon this hop shines as a flavour addition. This particular beer is beautifully balanced on the bittering side of things though. I don't actually notice it, but it's not dominated by the malt either.

I'm calling 30min or less with a chiller, or for those dirty no chillers (like me) this hop would probably work well as a really late addition or even a 100% cube hop smash.

10min Waimea SMASH anyone? Would go awesome i reckon.

I use lots of Nelson Sauvin and Motueka...It's much closer to Motueka to my palate. Both can have the florally element going on, but NS is way bigger on aroma (as is Citra - unmistakable), whereas this Waimea has that earthy quality to it that NS doesn't have, kind of similar to Motueka, but initially the Waimea is "sweeter"....can't quite put my finger on it. Very weak on the aroma front.

Bottom line is this....if you've brewed with Motueka a fair bit, you'll love this hop as a variant, but i'd recommend to go a bit harder than you normally would as it doesn't come through as much as the AA% would have you believe.

Next time i'm gonna add 25% right across all additions and see how that goes.

Go hard with this hop chaps, she doesn't bite!

This is almost exactly how I would describe Kohatu.
 
UPDATE:

It's been in my keg now for a couple of days, and i'm really enjoying it.

The flavour that's really coming through is Mandarin. There's a nice balanced bitterness to it, although next time im gonna add more of it, but there's a nice sweetness to it that's hard to pinpoint other than to say Mandarin.

Had a funeral yesterday (mother in law) and at the after ceremony back at our house, everyone that had a pint or several, said Mandarin.

Gonna brew it again 'fo shizz'.
 
Nice work Nath. Sounds good Im gonna double my stock
Daz
 
I'm doing an NZPA this week with Kohatu, Wai-iti and Waimea. Should probably give the Waimea a go on it's own first but what the hell. Haven't used Kohatu either, but it doesn't seem like anything special so I might as well use it in a combo.

So I'm thinking, more heavy-handed on the Kohatu and Waimea than the Wai-iti. Was going to throw a bit of Magnum in at the back, but maybe I should bitter with Waimea instead?

Input from anyone more familiar with NZ hops than I is appreciated.
 
I think I am going to try this hop for my first 10 min APA.

Those who find this is more flavour than aroma...would you say that to the point that dry hop is not worth it?
 
Tasted my first beer using this hop on Saturday. Ut was beautiful! An APA. I got a bit of citrus and mango from it but not overpowering. This is one great hop. Not as in your face as Galaxy.................just right. I will be brewing heaps with this from now on.
 
Rowy said:
Tasted my first beer using this hop on Saturday. Ut was beautiful! An APA. I got a bit of citrus and mango from it but not overpowering. This is one great hop. Not as in your face as Galaxy.................just right. I will be brewing heaps with this from now on.
Rowy, was it a single hop use in the brew or did you use it with others?

Cheers
 
Single hop Brad...........bloody nice it is.
 
I have a pack of Waimea I am keen to use, but after my experience with Wai-iti (nice but very mild) I am hesitant to go it alone and am wondering what hop might be good to compliment this, even if only for bittering. Would those who've used it go for something clean and piney (like southern cross), or would you think something stronger might better compliment it?
 
Just ordered a pound from CB

Would it work well in a Summer Ale (ie NSSA)? Same hopping ratio?

Thoughts?
 
Stux said:
Just ordered a pound from CB

Would it work well in a Summer Ale (ie NSSA)? Same hopping ratio?

Thoughts?
Yes would be excellent. The Waimea Golden Bitter (1 hop 1 grain) has been a big hit in the bars. We don't dry hop it either.
 
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