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!