Hop
African Queen
A South African hop with an unusual blackcurrant and dark-berry character alongside tropical fruit.
African Queen is the most distinctive of the South African varieties: dark berry and blackcurrant rather than the citrus and pine of American hops or the passionfruit of its neighbours.
That berry character makes it an awkward substitute for anything else, which is exactly why it is worth knowing about — it does something no widely available variety replicates.
Aroma and flavour
Descriptors are impressions rather than analytical results. BeerHQ rates this characterisation as commonly reported.
Belongs to
Analysis
| Alpha acid | 10–12% |
|---|---|
| Purpose | aroma |
| Origin | South Africa |
| Storage stability | unknown |
How it is used
- Late boil. Added in the last few minutes, retaining more aromatic oils while adding modest bitterness.
- Whirlpool / hop stand. Steeped below boiling after flameout. Extracts aroma and flavour with limited additional bitterness.
- Dry hop. Added after the boil, during or after fermentation. Contributes aroma and flavour with essentially no isomerised bitterness.
If you like African Queen
Hops with comparable character. Similarity and substitutability are different questions, so each entry says which it is: a hop can smell alike and still change the beer if its alpha acid is far off.
Superdelic 10–13% alpha
Shares tropical fruit, berry, stone fruit with African Queen; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
Not the same: nothing in the recorded profile separates the two, which means BeerHQ cannot tell you how they differ rather than that they are interchangeable.
Close enough in both aroma and alpha acid to swap in a recipe.
Vista 7–11% alpha
Shares tropical fruit, berry, stone fruit with African Queen; an aroma variety though it bitters more gently.
Not the same: nothing in the recorded profile separates the two, which means BeerHQ cannot tell you how they differ rather than that they are interchangeable.
Smells alike, but the alpha acid differs enough that a like-for-like swap would change the bitterness.
Mosaic 12–14% alpha
Shares tropical fruit, berry, stone fruit with African Queen; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
Not the same: brings pine and resin that African Queen does not.
Smells alike, but the alpha acid differs enough that a like-for-like swap would change the bitterness.
Citra 11–13% alpha
Shares tropical fruit, stone fruit with African Queen; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
Not the same: brings citrus that African Queen does not; lacks the berry of African Queen.
Close enough in both aroma and alpha acid to swap in a recipe.
Styrian Wolf 10–15% alpha
Shares tropical fruit, stone fruit with African Queen; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
Not the same: brings citrus that African Queen does not; lacks the berry of African Queen.
Close enough in both aroma and alpha acid to swap in a recipe.
Straight substitutes
Close enough in both character and alpha acid to swap at a similar weight. Substitution is directional and imperfect — these are the nearest available options, not equivalents.
- Superdelic — Shares tropical fruit, berry, stone fruit with African Queen; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
- Citra — Shares tropical fruit, stone fruit with African Queen; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
- Styrian Wolf — Shares tropical fruit, stone fruit with African Queen; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
- Southern Passion — Shares tropical fruit, stone fruit with African Queen; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.