Sultana hops, once called Denali, for pineapple in IPA
Sultana is a high alpha American hop that was sold for years as Denali. It brings pineapple and tropical fruit to an IPA and bitters cleanly. This guide covers the name change, the flavour and a 20 litre recipe.
One hop, two names
If you find Denali in an old recipe, it is the same hop now sold as Sultana. The name changed but the hop did not, so an older recipe can use Sultana in its place. Check the crop year on the pack either way, because stock marked with either name may be a season old.
Alpha acids are high, often mid-teens or above. That means the hop can bitter an IPA efficiently as well as scent it, a useful trait for a homebrewer who wants to buy fewer packs.
What it tastes like
Tasters report pineapple, ripe tropical fruit and a layer of pine or resin underneath. In some lots there is a sweet, almost candy-like note. The fruit comes through best in a soft, hazy beer. In a dry West Coast IPA the resin tends to lead.
As with all hops, the profile varies with crop year and storage. Smell your own pack and trust it above any description. A hop tea made with 2 g of pellets in hot water will tell you what to expect before you brew.
A 20 litre IPA with Sultana
Target an original gravity of 1.062 and 45 IBU. Use 85% pale malt, 8% wheat malt and 7% flaked oats. Mash at 66 °C. Ferment with a clean American ale yeast at 18 to 19 °C.
- 60 minutes: 14 g of Sultana at 15% alpha. At 28% utilisation that is 14 x 0.15 x 0.28 x 1,000 / 20 = 29.4 mg/L, so about 29 IBU.
- 10 minutes: 10 g, for roughly 8 IBU more.
- Whirlpool at 75 to 80 °C for 20 minutes: 40 g.
- Dry hop, four days at 18 °C: 80 g.
The total is 144 g, about 7 g per litre across the whole beer. That is a normal level for a juicy IPA. If you prefer a cleaner finish, cut the dry hop to 60 g and watch for hop burn if you raise it.
Blending for more pineapple
Sultana likes company. Nectaron pushes the pineapple towards peach and fresh fruit. A little Chinook gives structure and a pine edge for brewers who want the beer to finish dry. Try 60% Sultana with 40% of a partner in the whirlpool and dry hop. Compare the result with a single hop batch.
Water and yeast
Pineapple aroma sits well in a soft-bodied beer. For a hazy IPA, use a chloride to sulphate ratio near 2:1. For a drier, bitter IPA reverse it. If your tap water is hard, as many Indian city borewells are, dilute it with reverse osmosis water first. Then build up the minerals deliberately rather than accepting what comes out of the tap.
Yeast matters as well. English-derived strains used in hazy IPA add peach and apricot esters that blend with the hop. A neutral American strain shows the hop more clearly. Ferment at 18 to 20 °C either way.
Dry hopping without the harshness
Heavy dry hopping extracts polyphenols along with oils. The result is a peppery, burning finish some brewers call hop burn. Keep contact time to three or four days and remove the hops from the fermenter after that if you can. Taste at day three, then again at day four.
A gentle swirl once a day helps the oils reach the beer without leaving the pellets sitting on the bottom for a week. It is a small habit that makes a visible difference in the glass.
Quality checks on old hops
Any hop can go bad. Old, oxidised pellets smell of cheese, tea or damp cardboard. If your pack smells that way, do not use it for dry hopping. Use it for bittering only and buy fresh hops for aroma.
Grain can go bad too. Damp malt stored through an Indian monsoon can grow mould. Our guide on mycotoxins in malt and grain safety explains how to inspect it and when to throw it away.
Taste and keep a record
Taste the finished beer at two weeks and again at six. Hop aroma peaks early and then fades, so you learn how long your process keeps the fruit. Keep the beer cold from the day you package it. Write down the hop weights, times, temperatures and the dates you tasted. After three batches you will know more about Sultana than most descriptions can tell you.
Common questions
Is Sultana the same as Denali?
Yes. The hop was sold as Denali first and renamed Sultana. Recipes using Denali can use Sultana.
What does Sultana taste like?
Pineapple and ripe tropical fruit with pine or resin underneath. The balance varies by crop year.
Can Sultana be used for bittering?
Yes. It is high in alpha acid, so it bitters efficiently. Many brewers use it for bittering and again late for aroma.
