From Vol. 5, No. 5, September 2021
Heritage: Azacca — named after the Haitian god for agriculture — came out of a breeding program owned by Roy Farms, Wyckoff Farms, and Green Acre Farms. Azacca is a descendent of Toyomidori, a hop bred by Kirin Brewery Company in Japan but of American and European heritage. The male hop used to breed Toyomidori has moderate downy mildew tolerance and high powdery mildew tolerance/resistance. Summit is the grandmother on the father’s side. In 2003, when Japanese scientist Toru Kishimoto identified 4-mercapto-4-methylpentan-2-one (4MMP) as a significant contributor to tropical aromas in beer, he measured some of the highest levels in Summit. As a result, Azacca hops have agronomic characteristics that appeal to growers and unique aroma compounds brewers seek.
At the hop geek level, Azacca is intriguing because she is considered a semi-dwarf, meaning that she carries and expresses dwarfing genetics but can be farmed on a standard 18-foot trellis. That has implications for breeding more sustainable — and climate change adaptable — varieties.
The heat dome that settled over the northwest at the end of June 2021, pushing temperatures in the Yakima Valley to 115°F, was a test for many varieties.
“There were a range of reactions we saw in the dwarf/semi-dwarf hop varieties in response to heat stress,” reported Megan Twomey, agronomist and brand manager at ADHA (the breeding partnership). “The most positive observation we had was that none of them expressed any yellowing, wilt, or die back as was seen in other commercial varieties. The biggest negative that I saw was that some of our semi-dwarf (experimental) varieties that are more on the dwarfing side completely stopped growing.”
“These extreme events this summer were excellent for us to see what lines are better suited to climate extremes that will likely become more frequent in the future.”
Because of the high cone-to-leaf ratio, there is less waste to manage after harvest. On average, Azacca requires 15 percent less irrigation. “Blended with the dwarfing genetics Azacca got from its grandmother (Summit) and ADHA father, we have a high yielding, powdery mildew tolerant, unique variety that held up exceptionally well during the temperature extremes,” Twomey said.
The Basics: 14-16% alpha; 4-5.5% beta; 1.6-2.5 mL/100g total oil.
Aroma qualities: I’m going to leave this to Orpheus Brewing founder Jason Pellet. “I never had a beer so pineappley,” he said, remembering the first time he brewed with Azacca. “It pulls in a lot of the good stuff in American hops, very round. It’s got dankness, a bit of pine.” Others describe mango, papaya and citrus fruits.