Zappa Hops

[mark1964]

G'day fellas,
I'm in Australia, and I have just purchased some Zappa hop.s I have never heard of them over here, but the reviews on them are awesome.
I was wondering if anyone might have a recipe they might like to share? It sounds like a very interesting hop. I imagine it would be great for late additions
and not so much for bittering.
Thanks

 

[AJinJacksonville]

Good morning mark! I have never brewed with Zappa (and until only recently, never heard of it)...so naturally I turned to my good friend Google. A brewing supply store has a one hop recipe (Zappa Single Hop - Farmhouse Brewing Supply) that looks interesting. You could always do a SMASH with two row and see what you think of it (obviously also dependent on how many ounces of it you bought).

Really interested to see how it turns out. Keep us all posted!

Cheers!

 

[couchsending]

It’s a potent hop with a very diverse flavor profile. It has a distinct “ditch weed”/grassy/dank note to it that some people really enjoy.

Only one way to find out what it’s really like. Make a single hop beer with it. My usual SOP is a clean bittering hop at the beginning of the boil then the hop you want to learn about at 10/WP/DH in quantities that work for your system and ABV.

If you want to bend it I think some sort of West Cost IPA with some supporting Centennial, Simcoe, Amarillo would probably be nice.

It’s very potent and seems to have better staying power than a lot of other hops.

 

[mark1964]

Hi AJ & Couchsender,
Yes AJ I did see that recipe on Google and it did seem very interesting indeed. I was just testing the waters to see if anyone had any great results or experience with this hop. None of the brewing forums here in Oz have anything about it. The fella i purchased it from was very excited to get 10 kg to share around, Im lucky to get 250g so will be plenty to experiment with. No HBS here ever carry it.
Couchsender, Zappa has a very low AA so i'm surprised it will be so potent. I will certainly keep that in mind though, a SMASH might be the go but I do like my IPA to have a decent bitterness. As you said Centennial, Simcoe, Amarillo or even Citra? may be nice also. If I don't get inspired by anything else i'll just need to decide.
I just brewed a red IPA clone from a New Zealand brewer 8 Wired, called Tall Poppy. 1.075 OG will probably finish around 1.020 -22, Warrior Amarillo Riwaka Simcoe Centennial Vic secret. So I wont be brewing for 3 weeks or so, plenty of time to work on this one.
I will let you all know how I went.
Thanks for the reply..
cheers!

 

[couchsending]

Yeah it’s shocking for how low it’s alpha is how potent it is... it’s a weird hop. I find all the neomexicanus hops to have some unique properties that makes them different than the “normal” hops grown in the US.

 

[mark1964]

Just letting you fellas know that I've been to busy to dedicate any time to my brewing for the last few weeks, but am close to getting a recipe together. ATM thinking of warrior@60min, Zappa @ 15min, flame out, & Dry Hop. 80ibu IIPA
Its not set in stone yet.

 

[mashpaddled]

It's a pretty weird hop. It's kinda savory like a salad. I did not enjoy the beer I tried with it but maybe it's more up your alley than mine.

 

[mark1964]

Hi there fellas, I finally brewed my Zappa IPA. Its still in the fermenter.
80% American Ale Malt
8% Carared
6% Wheat Malt
5% Carapils
3% Acidulated MAlt
I used Warrior for bittering @60min
Zappa @ 30-15-10 and whirlpool
Then 2 dry hop additions
!st - Zappa on day 5
2nd- Cascade on day 8
I just pulled the Zappa out and will cold crash tomorrow. looking at kegging in a couple of days.
So looking forward t a taste of this beer!

 

[actech]

Curious how it turned out. I bought some Zappa pellets without knowing what I was gonna do with them. Glad I read this. At 3.4 alpha I was thinking using it in a cream of 3 crops. What a shock that might have been. Could using it instead of mosaic with the golden promise I have ?

 

[soccerdad]

So many potential beer names for a Zappa hop. My son says Hello Snow.

 

[DJL531]

So many potential beer names for a Zappa hop. My son says Hello Snow.

Dude, your son is a prophet. I'm making this in a month or two. 2 row, crystal, bitter with Magnum and then Zappa. ok... fine... fur sure, fur sure?

 

[soccerdad]

I would avoid brown shoes when you brew it. Brown Shoes Don't Make It.

 

[Jeff Kroosz]

When trying a new hop, I like to feature it, but support it with a familiar hop at a 3:1 or 2.5:1 ratio, in the dry hop. No whirlpool addition.
Bitter modestly with a hop of your choice, but don't interfere with the target profile.

 

[soccerdad]

I like DJL's idea above of bittering with Magnum.