Tropical Fusion
aroma blend · New Zealand
A Freestyle Hops in-field blend of Riwaka, Southern Cross and Motueka — three varieties grown together in a single block and picked as one, rather than blended after harvest. Sweet exotic citrus over intense tropical fruit, with a depth that no single one of the three delivers alone.
1 brew
About
Tropical Fusion is one of Freestyle Hops' in-field blends: Riwaka, Southern Cross and Motueka planted together in a single block in the Nelson region and harvested as a single lot. Because the blend happens in the field rather than in the warehouse, the ratio shifts with each season's yield and the character is a genuine composite rather than a recipe. Riwaka carries the grapefruit and passionfruit, Motueka adds fresh lime and lemon zest, and Southern Cross supplies most of the alpha along with a resinous lemon-peel and pine note that gives the blend a spine. The result reads brightest as a late-kettle or whirlpool addition, where the citrus stays vivid and the tropical fruit fills in behind it.
Specs
- Alpha acids
- Not published by Freestyle for the blend; roughly 7–9% inferred from the components (Riwaka 4.5–6.5%, Motueka 6–8%, Southern Cross 11–14%). Read the lot figure off the bag.
Use rates
- Bittering
- Not recommended — the blend alpha is unpublished, so a bittering charge cannot be calculated with any confidence
- Flavour
- 0.5–1.5 g/L at 15–20 min
- Whirlpool
- 2–3 g/L; the addition that shows the blend at its best
- Dry hop
- 2–5 g/L for 3–5 days
Pairings
- Grains
- Pale malt base; oat and wheat adjunct grists for hazy styles
- Other hops
- Nectaron to amplify the tropical, Citra for citrus backbone, Simcoe for resin underneath
- Styles
- Hazy IPA, Pale Ale, IPA, Session IPA, Summer Ale