South African Hops Showdown

Southern Star. African Queen. Southern Passion. The names and characteristics of these South African hop varieties and others are not very well known outside of their homeland. It boils down to availability. South Africa ranks well behind other countries in hop production and almost all the hops grown tend to stay in the country. Hop growing in South Africa dates all the way back to Dutch settlers in the 1600s and continued to serve the goal of providing a cost-effective local hop supply for brewers located so far away from Europe’s traditional hop sources. That business dynamic continues today. The country’s hop farms are now controlled by Anheuser-Busch InBev with the majority of each annual crop reserved for their own brewing needs in South Africa. Surplus hops are sold regularly to local South African craft brewers and homebrewers. The small amounts left over are exported to other countries when supplies allow.

So when a group of American homebrewers recently visited South Africa on a BYO trip to learn more about the local beer culture, South African beer expert Lucy Corne organized a special meetup with local Cape Town homebrewers to shine a spotlight on South Africa’s unique hops. The 20 local homebrewers shared homemade beers they had brewed especially for this gathering made exclusively with their country’s hop varieties. The homebrewers could brew any style of beer they wanted — the only requirement was all the hops used had to be South African varieties.

On the afternoon of the meetup, tables were set up in the brewery area of Shackleton Brewing Company in Cape Town and the arriving American homebrewers were given informal scoring sheets so they could rate the different homebrews as they began to taste beers made with South African hops, many for the first time. There were over 20 lagers, pale ales, and IPAs to sample as the two groups of homebrewers quickly started sharing brewing tips and smiles with each other in between sips. As the entire group sampled these beers they noticed the different range of aromas and flavors from hop varieties most had no prior experience with before in the glass.

At the end of two hours, votes were cast for the favorite overall homebrew featuring South African hops with the winner receiving the opportunity to scale up their recipe and brew it on the commercial system at Shackleton to later be served at their taproom. The winner was Michael Van Der Linde’s “Dry Mopped Hazy Pale Ale” brewed with Southern Passion, African Queen, and Southern Star hops. 

During the homebrewer meetup, it was wonderful to see homebrewers from America and South Africa have fun together. In addition to new friendships formed between homebrewers located halfway around the world from each other, both groups also walked away learning more about South African hops — and that even included the local brewers. Contest winner Michael Van Der Linde from Cape Town said, “We normally brew with U.S., U.K., and New Zealand hops, but this has given me more respect for our local hops.”

Popular South African Hops

African Queen 
10–17% Alpha Acids • Aromas of melon and gooseberry

Southern Aroma 
3–7% Alpha Acids • Floral and woody aroma

Southern Dawn 
11–13% Alpha Acids • Citrus, ginger, and lemongrass flavors

Southern Passion 
5–12% Alpha Acids • Ripe tropical fruit flavors, floral aroma

Southern Star 
12–18% Alpha Acids • Pineapple, blueberry, and tropical fruit flavors

Southern Sublime 
10–13% Alpha Acids • Mango, plum, and citrus flavors

Southern Tropic 
12–18% Alpha Acids • Melon, tropical fruit, and guava flavors