Wakatu a.k.a. Hallertau Aroma

A New Zealand aroma hop — zesty lime and clean citrus.

Origin
Country
New Zealand
Released
1988
Alpha Acid
5.0–8.5%

What it tastes like

Wakatu (once called Hallertau Aroma) is a New Zealand triploid aroma hop with two-thirds Hallertau Mittelfrüh heritage. It pairs clean, zesty lime and citrus with a soft floral-woody base, bridging old-world noble and new-world zest.

citruslimegrassywoody

Best in these styles

Tasting Tip
Versatile across the boil — Wakatu gives clean noble bitterness early and a zesty lime-citrus aroma late.

Beers showcasing Wakatu

Specific beer examples coming soon.

Substitutes & relatives

If you can't source Wakatu, these hops bring overlapping character.

Lineage & family

How Wakatu connects to the rest of the hop family — its parents, and the varieties it spawned. Trace the full pedigree in the Hop Lineage explorer →

Hallertauer MittelfruhWakatu
Founding lineage
● Hallertauer Mittelfruh 100%

Blood relatives

Genetically closest in the pedigree (may taste different):

Pedigree data adapted from the Rohwer (2021) hop family tree (CC0 1.0). Compilation, analysis & visualisation © 2026 Veryation · Freshie™.

For brewers — technical profile

Alpha Acid
5.0–8.5%
Beta Acid
7.5–8.5%
Total Oil
0.8–1.5 mL/100g

Oil composition

myrcene
35–45%
humulene
15–17%
caryophyllene
6–8.5%
farnesene
5–7%

History

Wakatu was developed by New Zealand's Plant & Food Research hop programme and released in 1988 as Hallertau Aroma, then renamed Wakatu in 2011. A triploid with about two-thirds Hallertau Mittelfrüh parentage, it offers noble character with a New Zealand citrus lift.

Sources

So you can see nothing here is made up — the published specifications on this page are traceable to grower / breeder data:

Freshness Note
Keep Wakatu cold and sealed to preserve its bright lime-citrus top notes.

Explore more hops

→ Browse all hop varieties

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