Get to Know Your Favorite Hop | Azacca®

Discover the godlike levels of citrus, tropical fruit, and soft pine of Azacca®, and learn why its genetics have farmers so excited.

Named after the Haitian god of agriculture, Azacca® lives up to its namesake with a flavor and aroma that’s damn near divine. Cultivated by the same breeders who brought us Summit® back in 2003, this variety packs a sublime combination of citrus, tropical fruit, and delicate pine.

Brewers took an immediate liking to it when it became commercially available in 2013, and the single-hop Azacca IPA from Founders Brewing Co¹ helped bring it to the attention of the masses. One brewer told Yakima Valley Hops, “Azacca is one of my favorite hops and goes well with so many other popular hops.”²

Today, this semi-dwarf variety offers sustainability benefits for farmers and, of course, it still adds heavenly flavor and aroma to beer. Thirsty for more? Read on and learn about the origins, aromas, and flavors of Azacca®.

Azacca® Flavor & Aroma

This duel-purpose hop is unexpectedly refreshing with big notes of citrus and tropical fruit. Think ripe mango, pineapple, and papaya, with bright citrus like grapefruit and orange. It’s the subtle notes of pine, however, that elevate Azacca® above other citrus-bomb varieties. 

Alpha acids range from 14-16%. While it can be used for bittering, many brewers lean toward using Azacca® as a late addition and/or for dry hopping. It’s incredibly delicate, so dry hopping or using it during the whirlpool can help protect the volatile aromatic compounds and spotlight those vivid tropical fruit flavors.

We highly recommend getting your hands on a single-hop beer that highlights the delightful characteristics of this hop. That doesn’t mean it won’t play well with others, though. Admittedly, Azacca® can sometimes be overpowered by other varieties, so it takes an artist's touch to do it justice. 

One such brewery is Warped Wing Brewing Co. Their Gamma Bomb IPA is a traditional West Coast Style IPA with a mixture of Centennial, Amarillo®, and Cascade hop pellets. They’ve used an optimized hop extract of Azacca® to punch up the citrus and add depth to its resinous pine notes. It’s safe to say they succeeded, but you’ll have to taste it for yourself to get the complete, delicious picture.

Obviously, IPAs are a phenomenal option, but other beer styles brewers love to use Azacca® in include pale ale, fruit beers, sours, and saisons.

Before Azacca®, It Was ADHA 483

Sure, the name turns heads and the flavor is unforgettable. However, it took careful breeding and unique genetics to create the Azacca® that we all know and love today. First and foremost, it started with a hop breeding company in Moxee, WA that wanted to do things differently. 

Latitude 46, previously known as the American Dward Hop Association (ADHA), is known for developing sustainable, high-quality hops with unique genetics.³

“[Latitude 46] started out as a joint venture into the development of dwarf hop varieties and has evolved into an effort to breed sustainable solutions to the unique on-farm and brewery challenges of the 21st century. The goals are to have resilient agronomic traits for a range of climate conditions, unique aromas, disease resistance with fewer pesticides and a broad adaptation to different growing regions.”

Roy Farms and Green Acre Farms introduce Latitude 46 - A Pacific Northwest Hop Breeding Co.

Access Newswire⁴

With that in mind, it’s time for us to talk about the singular genetics of Azacca®. Before its godlike name, this variety was known simply as ADHA 483. Latitude 46 crossed the Japanese hop Toyomidori with an unknown variety. They refer to the latter as ADHA 94/95 and its lineage includes Summit®, while the Toyomidori mother descends from Northern Brewer. 

In addition to unique aroma compounds, these combined genetics give Azacca® agronomic features valuable for growers. As a semi-dwarf variety, Azacca® contains dwarfing genetics (shorter internode distance, top to bottom cone production, high cone to leaf ratio, etc.) but can still be grown on standard 18-foot trellises. While the variety was commercially released in 2013, a true test of its sustainability features came at the end of June 2021.

An unprecedented heat dome sent temperatures in the Yakima Valley to 115°F. Megan Twomey, agronomist and brand manager for Latitude 46, said that while some of their dwarf/semi-dwarf varieties didn’t show any signs of yellowing, wilt, or die back in response to the heat stress, some of their experimental semi-dwarf varieties stopped growing altogether. 

Fortunately, Azacca® was up to the challenge. In an interview with the American Homebrewers Association, Twomey explained, “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.”⁵

Azacca® Beyond Beer

Brewers love to use it, farmers love to grow it, and consumers can’t get enough of its unique flavors and aromas. So… why stop at beer?

We get it, beers that feature this variety are mouthwatering (seriously, you need to try that Gamma Bomb IPA), but that big tropical flavor with those subtle notes of pine would be a great addition to a variety of beverages.

First, we need brewers to put that juicy variety into a hop water STAT! The delicate nature of these flavors will positively sing in an NA beverage that’s light, crisp and lets Azacca® take center stage. Plus, the growing number of hop water consumers are thirsty for innovative flavors. It would be oh-so easy (and cost-effective) to add an unexpected twist by adding other fruit flavors like Peach or Guava. The sky is the limit! We’re imagining RTD cocktails, teas, functional beverages, and MORE. 

Plus, we have two optimized hop extracts for brewers to choose from. Our Quantum Series starts with hops… and only hops. Using whole Azacca® hops and pellets, we perform the highest quality extractions in the industry, so you’re JUST getting vibrant flavor and aroma without any undesirable compounds. We’re not formulating these in the lab, we’re just squeezing every last drop of flavor and aroma out of the hops for the truest version of Azacca®.

That also means our AZA Quantum Profile is in limited supply. Whole hops and pellets are subject to harvest variabilities, which limits the quantity and availability of Quantum extracts. So, if you love a particular Quantum extract, act fast.

Omni Hop Profiles, on the other hand, don’t have supply issues. Bonus? They never will. Things like seasonal flavor drift or industry shortages won’t impact our ability to recreate these profiles. 

While Quantum is solely derived from hops, Omni Hop Profiles are sourced from sustainable botanicals. With this as the foundation, we then layer in terpenes and other compounds to formulate, replicate, and standardize the flavor and aroma of hops. This allows us to create a true living record of specific hop samples that can be recreated indefinitely. 

Want to brew with the varietal-specific flavor and aroma of Azacca® forever? With our AZAX085 Omni Hop Profile, you can. 

If that wasn’t enough, brewers now have the option to customize the flavor of Azacca®. Want those notes of pine to be less subtle? Do you want to rub a little musk on those tropical fruits? Now, brewers can differentiate their brand with exclusive flavors and aromas customers won’t get anywhere else.

Abstrax | Brew the True Flavor and Aroma of Azacca®

Don’t mind us while we crack open the nearest single-hopped beer bursting with all of the phenomenal flavor and aroma of Azacca®. Ready to start brewing? Today, it’s easier than ever. 

Unlike traditional extracts, our Optimized Hop Extracts offer varietal-specific flavors and aromas with no alpha acids and no undesirable plant compounds that can gunk up your tank. They have a 100% utilization rate, they don’t require carriers, they offer logistical cost savings, and there’s zero “hop creep.”

Contact us today, and let’s get you brewing with the juicy tropical flavors and aromas of Azacca®.

1. Introducing First Seasonal of 2016: Azacca IPA. Founders Brewing Company. (2016). https://foundersbrewing.com/latest-news/2015/introducing-first-seasonal-of-2016-azacca-ipa/

2. Azacca Hops. Yakima Valley Hops. (n.d.). https://yakimavalleyhops.com/products/azacca-hop-pellets?srsltid=AfmBOorJKN7p_SUQVG7_UhLgxoLY70AhGwAqILFvnaNM2bYJxiIMI12r

3. Bred Differently. Two farms. One Purpose. Latitude46. (n.d.). https://latitude46.com/

4. Roy Farms and Green Acre Farms Introduce Latitude 46 - A Pacific Northwest Hop Breeding Co. ACCESSWIRE Newsroom. (2023, May 8). https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/food-and-beverage-products/roy-farms-and-green-acre-farms-introduce-latitude-46-a-pacific-northwest--753399

5. Hieronymus, S. (2024, July 10). Azacca Hops: A New Breed Growing in Popularity. American Homebrewers Association. https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/azacca-hops-a-new-breed-growing-into-popularity/