This rebel hop is native to the mountains of New Mexico. Zappa® wasn’t crossed with conventional varieties by early settlers, or developed by white coats in a breeding program, they figured it out all on their own, right here in the real world.
Named after Frank Zappa, in conjunction with the Zappa family, this variety is now grown in four states across several growing regions. Zappa® invokes intense tropical flavors of passion fruit and mango coupled with spicy and herbal notes. Primarily brewed in American IPAs and Hazy IPAs, Zappa® also expresses well in saisons, Mexican lagers, and other styles highlighting both fruity and spicy qualities.
Where in the process can you use Zappa®?
Kettle: Maximize on herbal and spice qualities.
Whirlpool: Introduce the wider and multifaceted aromas of Zappa®.
Dry Hop: Elicit the hop’s more tropical notes of passion fruit and mango, grape, or fruity pebbles.
“The best overall expression of any hop is found when used on the cold side as a dry hop, and that is true with Zappa® as well. It’ll be in the dry hop where you can choose your own Zappa® adventure, so to speak,” says Alexandra Nowell, technical brewing advisor for CLS Farms.
Standing alone, you can expect sage and sandalwood upfront, tropical fruit notes filling the midrange, and berry and grape in the finish.
Complementary Hops: Dependent on which part of the aromatic spectrum you want to focus on. Maximize Zappa®’s tropical notes by combining with El Dorado®, Mosaic or Strata; for red fruits and berries look to Cashmere or Idaho Gem; for citrus a combination of Centennial, Cascade, and Chinook would play well.
“It's a distinct, assertive, weird and challenging hop – from the field to the glass,” says Steve Luke of Cloudburst Brewing.
Pure. Wild. American. 100% Neomexicanus. Experiment with Zappa® today or contact zappa@clsfarms.com for more information.
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