African Queen Hops

Bred in South Africa by South African Breweries (SAB), African Queen is a premier high-alpha, dual-purpose cultivar that stands as a flagship variety of the southern hemisphere's craft hop market. Developed as a diploid seedling from a controlled cross between the experimental selection 91J7/25 and a South African male line designated 94US2/118, this revolutionary variety was specifically engineered as a "daylight neutral" plant. This unique genetic trait allows it to thrive and produce heavy yields at just 34°S latitude in the city of George (Western Cape), breaking the traditional geographic barriers of the ideal 40° to 54° latitude band that typically limits commercial hop cultivation. It has rapidly gained international acclaim in hop-forward brewing circles as a true star of the fermenter, delivering an incredibly complex, deep, and heavily saturated character that successfully challenges the most sought-after proprietary New World varieties.

The sensory footprint of African Queen is an intensely expressive, royal masterpiece that delivers an unashamedly bold and deeply saturated dark fruit experience. The aromatic canopy opens instantly with a thick, jammy core of wild blueberries, ripe blackcurrants, and sweet, juicy watermelon. This heavy, punchy fruit display effortlessly glides into a complex middle tier showcasing crisp gooseberries and a distinctive, sticky-dank cannabis resin. Grounding this flamboyant performance is a highly sophisticated, sharp background whisper of fresh lemongrass and a subtle kick of chili spice. Thanks to its clean oil distribution and high-alpha muscle, African Queen functions beautifully as an elite dual-purpose weapon—imparting a remarkably clean bitterness early in the kettle while throwing off a loud, exotic fruit and dank saturation when pushed heavily into late additions, the whirlpool, or cold-side dry hopping.