Hop
Southern Cross
A New Zealand dual-purpose hop with lemon peel, pine and a smooth bitterness.
Aroma and flavour
Descriptors are impressions rather than analytical results. BeerHQ rates this characterisation as commonly reported.
Belongs to
Analysis
| Alpha acid | 11–14% |
|---|---|
| Purpose | dual purpose |
| Origin | New Zealand |
| Storage stability | good |
How it is used
- Bittering (early boil). Added at or near the start of the boil, where long exposure isomerises alpha acids into bitterness and drives off aroma.
- Late boil. Added in the last few minutes, retaining more aromatic oils while adding modest bitterness.
If you like Southern Cross
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.
Chinook 12–14% alpha
Shares citrus, pine and resin, earth and wood with Southern Cross; a dual-purpose 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.
Simcoe 12–14% alpha
Shares citrus, pine and resin, earth and wood with Southern Cross; a dual-purpose variety at a comparable alpha acid.
Not the same: brings tropical fruit that Southern Cross does not.
Close enough in both aroma and alpha acid to swap in a recipe.
Nugget 12–14% alpha
Shares pine and resin, earth and wood with Southern Cross; a bittering variety at a comparable alpha acid.
Not the same: brings herbal that Southern Cross does not; lacks the citrus of Southern Cross.
Close enough in both aroma and alpha acid to swap in a recipe.
Galena 11–14% alpha
Shares citrus, earth and wood with Southern Cross; a bittering variety at a comparable alpha acid.
Not the same: brings berry that Southern Cross does not; lacks the pine and resin of Southern Cross.
Close enough in both aroma and alpha acid to swap in a recipe.
Apollo 15–20% alpha
Shares citrus, pine and resin, earth and wood with Southern Cross; a bittering variety though it bitters harder.
Not the same: 6 points higher in alpha acid, so a like-for-like weight swap would change the bitterness.
Smells alike, but the alpha acid differs enough that a like-for-like swap would change the bitterness.
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.
- Chinook — Shares citrus, pine and resin, earth and wood with Southern Cross; a dual-purpose variety at a comparable alpha acid.
- Simcoe — Shares citrus, pine and resin, earth and wood with Southern Cross; a dual-purpose variety at a comparable alpha acid.
- Nugget — Shares pine and resin, earth and wood with Southern Cross; a bittering variety at a comparable alpha acid.
- Galena — Shares citrus, earth and wood with Southern Cross; a bittering variety at a comparable alpha acid.