Galaxy and Vic Secret Australian hops

Both hops come from one Australian breeding programme

Galaxy and Vic Secret were both developed by Hop Products Australia and are grown in the hop gardens of Victoria and Tasmania. Galaxy reached brewers first, around 2009. Vic Secret followed in 2013. Both were bred for the same job: big tropical aroma from a high-alpha plant.

Because they grow in the southern hemisphere, the harvest runs from about February to April. Fresh Australian crop therefore lands in importers' stock months before the American and German harvest. For an Indian homebrewer buying from a distributor, that timing matters less than how the pellets were stored on the way. Ask when the lot was packed and keep it in the freezer once it reaches you.

If you are new to hops from this part of the world, our guide to New Zealand and Australian hops puts these two in context.

Galaxy reads as passionfruit, Vic Secret as pineapple

Rub a few pellets of each between warm palms and the difference is clear within seconds.

• Galaxy gives passionfruit first, then peach and citrus peel. Alpha acid usually sits around 13 to 15%, with total oil commonly in the region of 2 to 3 mL per 100 g, which is high.
• Vic Secret gives pineapple and passionfruit with a resinous, piney edge underneath. Its alpha acid runs higher on average, often in the mid to high teens.

Exact figures change from crop to crop, so use the number printed on your packet when you calculate bitterness. A difference of three points of alpha acid shifts the IBU of a 60 minute addition by about a fifth.

High alpha means a small bittering charge

You can bitter with either hop, but they are wasted there. With alpha acid near 14%, a 20 litre batch at a starting gravity of 1.050 reaches around 25 IBU from roughly 15 g boiled for 60 minutes. Many brewers bitter with a cheaper, cleaner hop and save every gram of Galaxy or Vic Secret for the end of the boil.

The aroma lives in the oil. Most of it boils off within minutes at 100 °C, which is why late additions and the whirlpool do the real work. Our alpha acids guide shows how to calculate the bittering side properly.

The whirlpool is where these hops earn their price

A hop stand at 75 to 80 °C for 20 to 30 minutes pulls oil into the wort while keeping isomerisation (and therefore extra bitterness) fairly low. For a 20 litre pale ale, 40 to 60 g in the whirlpool gives a clear Galaxy or Vic Secret character without a harsh finish.

Dry hopping adds the high notes. Rates of 3 to 6 g per litre are common in pale ales and IPAs. Galaxy in particular can turn green and slightly vegetal when pushed to the top of that range, so start lower and taste before you add more. Keep the dry hop contact to three or four days at fermentation temperature, then cold crash.

Pair them with a clean malt bill and a neutral yeast

Tropical hops get lost behind heavy crystal malt. A base of pale malt with 5 to 10% wheat or oats keeps the beer light in colour and lets the fruit lead. A clean American ale strain fermented at 18 to 20 °C stays out of the way. A fruity English strain can work too, but the esters and the hops then compete for the same space.

Galaxy and Vic Secret blend well with each other. Galaxy brings the juice, Vic Secret the resin. A 50:50 whirlpool blend is a good first experiment. The pair also works with American hops such as Citra or Mosaic if you want to stretch an expensive packet.

Heat is the enemy between the shop and your fermenter

Hop oil is volatile and oxidises with warmth and air. A sealed pack left in a car in Delhi in May can lose much of what you paid for in an afternoon. Buy from a seller who ships cold, put the pellets straight into the freezer and reseal opened packs with as little air as possible.

Here is a simple way to learn both hops at once. Brew one 20 litre batch of plain pale ale, split it into two fermenters after the boil and dry hop one with 60 g of Galaxy and the other with 60 g of Vic Secret. Taste them side by side when they are ready and write down what you smell before you read the packet again.