Brew Dudes

We are back with another SMaSH beer and another New Zealand variety. As mentioned in our Riwaka hops post, I choose to buy a bunch of packets from Yakima Valley Hops since they had a sale on their 2022 supply. Because we didn’t know much about Pacific Sunrise hops, we brewed a SMaSH (Single Malt and Single Hops) beer to get a better sense of it and talk about it on the internet. Use our thoughts presented here in your own homebrew adventures. Enjoy!

How We Brew The SMaSH Beer

For this beer we used of two pounds (0.9 kg0 of Rahr 2-row malt. We mashed at a temperature of 150°F (66°C) for an hour with 2 gallons of spring water. After mashing, we boiled the wort for an hour. Our first addition took place with 10 minutes remaining in the boil, adding 7 grams of hops. After boiling, a hop stand followed, where the beer was cooled to 180°F (82°C) and 14 g of hops were steeped for 10 minutes. Then, the beer was chilled to the fermentation temperature, and yeast was added to initiate fermentation (3 g of US-05 dry yeast). On the third day of fermentation, an additional dry hop of 7 grams was introduced and we carbed it up in the uKeg.

Pacific Sunrise Hops Thoughts

Assessing the aroma, we found a range of impressions including wet raisin, wet plum, and a hint of canned lychee. Alongside these notes, there is a creamy caramel aspect and a subtle tropical salad note.

Moving on to the taste, the creamy sweetness dominates, accompanied by a plummy essence and slightly subdued tropical undertones. The aftertaste introduces a burst of citrus pithiness, enhancing the flavor experience. On top of all of these flavors, an intriguing butterscotch-like quality surfaces.

We think these the hops are defined by sweet fruit, citrus, and a woody aromatic nature. We think these hops should be used as a background hop, its potential to complement brighter varieties becomes evident. Pacific Sunrise hops present a certain level of complexity that make them better to blend with other hops to accentuate their qualities.

If you have a chance to brew with them, be sure to let us know!

BREW ON!

Yakima Valley Hops had a sale on a bunch of hops from New Zealand. One variety has been on our minds for while because we have received many requests to review it. It took a discount to do it, but we finally brewed a SMaSH (Single Malt and Single Hops) beer to learn more about it and talk about it on YouTube. Check out the video of our Riwaka hops experience!

Our SMaSH Beer Formula

In case you’re new to the game, our SMaSH beers for hops analysis are all one 1 US gallon batches. We use 2 pounds (.9 kg) of pale malt (Rahr’s 2-row) and 1 ounce (28 g) of Riwaka hops. For this brew session, we added the 7 grams of hops at 10 minutes left to go in the boil. Then, we added 14 grams after chilling the wort to 180° F (82° C) and letting the hops sit for 10 minutes before chilling to fermentation temperatures. During fermentation, we had a dry hop addition at day 3 of 7 grams.

Our Riwaka Hops Review

We are both impressed with the results of the beer. We thought the aroma is “bright and citrusy,” with notes of lime, grapefruit, and melon. The flavor was also citrusy, with a slight herbal note. We feel that the Riwaka hops are a good fit for a SMaSH beer, as this variety is able to stand on its own without being overpowered by other flavors.

Mike thinks this variety reminds him of Sabro hops. It has tropical fruit flavors that are more in the realm of coconut. I thought that you could brew a hop-forward beer that has the presence of strong grapefruit beers like the US Pacific Northwest hops.

They would definitely recommend this hop variety to other homebrewers who are looking to brew a beer with bright citrus notes.

BREW ON!