Exotique^® Hops

Exotique^® stands as a highly expressive, premium New World cultivar that showcases the incredible depth of modern Southern Hemisphere breeding. Developed and selected in New Zealand by the innovative team at Wild About Hops, this proprietary variety was born from a successful cross between a high-flavor Riwaka^™ female parent and a select proprietary male plant. Though it behaves with ultimate restraint on the hot side—delivering a delicate, soft-edged, and low-intensity bittering structure due to a modest alpha acid baseline that ranges strictly between 4.0% and 6.0%—it is rarely used as a primary kettle workhorse. Instead, Exotique^® is deployed by contemporary brewhouses as a specialized late-stage or dry-hop asset, engineered to establish a smooth, faint structural foundation that cleans up the mid-palate and preserves the variety's unique essential oils with pristine clarity.

The profile of Exotique^® is a beautifully complex and refreshing sensory showcase that consciously steps away from generic tropical oil profiles in favor of a crisp, structured orchard-and-berry signature. The experience bursts open on the nose with an immediate, forward punch of sweet white peach[tag], fragrant [tag]pear[tag] skin, and zesty [tag]lime[tag]. Once it hits the palate, this bright introduction broadens seamlessly to unveil deep, vibrant layers of fresh blueberry and tangy [tag]kiwi fruit, all beautifully underscored by a delicate top-note of spring honeysuckle and apple blossom. The finish is remarkably smooth and clean, leaving behind a subtle, rounded impression of juicy honeydew melon and rich sweet cream that perfectly balances the bright citrus oils without ever introducing a sharp, aggressive, or lingering throat-clinging acridity.