Hop
Southern Passion
A South African aroma hop with intense passionfruit and guava character, and the best-known variety from a small but distinctive growing region.
South African hops are grown under artificial light near the southern limit of where the plant will flower at all, which is unusual and part of why the aroma profile is unlike anything from the northern hemisphere.
Southern Passion is the variety that made the region visible to brewers outside it. Expect passionfruit and guava at the front with a stone-fruit softness behind, at a moderate alpha that suits late and dry-hop additions.
Aroma and flavour
Descriptors are impressions rather than analytical results. BeerHQ rates this characterisation as commonly reported.
Belongs to
Analysis
| Alpha acid | 9–11% |
|---|---|
| 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 Southern Passion
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.
Triumph 8–12% alpha
Shares tropical fruit, stone fruit, citrus with Southern Passion; 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.
Harlequin 8–11% alpha
Shares tropical fruit, stone fruit, citrus with Southern Passion; 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.
Olicana 7–10% alpha
Shares tropical fruit, stone fruit, citrus with Southern Passion; 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.
Smells alike, but the alpha acid differs enough that a like-for-like swap would change the bitterness.
Styrian Wolf 10–15% alpha
Shares tropical fruit, stone fruit, citrus with Southern Passion; an aroma variety though it bitters harder.
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.
Nectaron 8–12% alpha
Shares tropical fruit, stone fruit, citrus with Southern Passion; 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.
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.
- Triumph — Shares tropical fruit, stone fruit, citrus with Southern Passion; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
- Harlequin — Shares tropical fruit, stone fruit, citrus with Southern Passion; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
- Nectaron — Shares tropical fruit, stone fruit, citrus with Southern Passion; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
- African Queen — Shares tropical fruit, stone fruit with Southern Passion; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.