To learn more about hops, we have been brewing single malt, single hop (SMaSH) beers to taste and experience the hop flavors and aromas that certain varieties are described as having. We feel it is one thing to read about flavors and another thing to taste them. Learn along with us as we have a SMaSH Beer Tasting with Azacca Hops

This variety is gaining popularity with homebrewers. I wrote a profile about Azacca hops and was pretty excited about them after I did the research.

Updated SMaSH Process

If you haven’t seen one of these videos before, my process for this experiment is to brew up a one gallon batch using one base malt and using an ounce of the specific hop that we want to learn more about.

The one ounce works well in the batch size and it economical since I don’t have to buy a lot of hops for what is essentially a test.

One gallon batches are great because they don’t take as much time start to finish as a 5 gallon batch and are easier to pour down the drain if need be.

Last year, the hop additions in the 60 minute boil used to be spread out. Now, I just do a bittering charge at the start (.25 ounces) and add the rest of the hop packet at flameout.

How Did The Azacca SMaSH Taste?

This hop variety presented itself as having a dried pineapple flavor in the beer I brewed. There was some citrus notes. Mike tasted some melon. I found it to have a strong bitterness in the aftertaste.

The few descriptors we did not detect were mango and papaya. It could be based on our lack of experience with these tropical fruits or that these flavors did not present themselves in the SMaSH beer. There seemed to be a lot of complexity to the beer’s hop flavor and aroma.

One thing we have been noticing with these new varieties is the level of flavors that are present in the finished beers. It can be difficult to pick out certain flavors as descriptor since there is so much going on in the aroma and flavor.

What Did We Learn From Our SMaSH Beer Tasting With Azacca Hops?

This hop is worthy of the hype. It will definitely bring a big bold presence to your hop profile. It is certainly a variety that will add something extra in your late hop additions in your IPA. We’re not sure if it would work in other styles but American ales are a place to start with your experiments.

Check out our other SMaSH videos on YouTube.

Let us know your thoughts about Azacca hops below.

Brew On!