Apricot, peach and mandarin — the producer calls Rakau 'a big bowl of tropical fruit'. Here it is as an oil, minus the bitterness.
Zero bitterness · IPA 15–20 ml/hL · Dry hop, whirlpool & keg · 20 ml ≈ 1 kg T90 pellets · New Zealand · 20 ml
What it does in your beer
Stone fruit leads — apricot and peach — followed by mandarin, tangerine, pink grapefruit, pineapple and a floral lift. As a hop cone, Rakau is a dual-purpose variety with real bittering ability; the oil keeps the fruit and leaves that behind, with alpha, beta and iso-alpha acids each below 0.1 %.
Extracted from fresh, undried cones within 24 hours of harvest, it goes where pellets go late in the process — whirlpool, dry hop, bright tank — without the sludge. IPAs of all kinds and pale ales are the classic fit; lagers and pilsners work too.
At a glance
| Product | Amplifire™ Fresh Hop Oil |
| Producer | Clayton Hops, New Zealand |
| Variety | Rakau |
| Form | Water-soluble liquid hop oil |
| Pack size | 20 ml |
| Made from | Fresh, undried hop cones, extracted within 24 hours of harvest; no solvents in extraction |
| Bitterness | None — alpha, beta and iso-alpha acids each <0.1 % |
| Aroma | Apricot, peach, mandarin, tangerine, pink grapefruit, pineapple, floral |
| Dosage | Lagers 3–5 ml/hL · Pale ale 10–15 ml/hL · IPA 15–20 ml/hL |
| Pellet equivalent | 100 ml ≈ 5 kg T90 pellets (about 50:1 by weight) |
| Use in | Whirlpool below 85 °C, dry hop, bright tank or keg — not the kettle |
| Shelf life | 2 years sealed; 2–3 months once opened |
| Origin | New Zealand |
How much for a 20 L batch
| Lager & lighter styles (3–5 ml/hL) | 0.6–1.0 ml |
| Pale ale (10–15 ml/hL) | 2–3 ml |
| IPA (15–20 ml/hL) | 3–4 ml |
| Hazy IPA — producer's starting trial (20–50 ml/hL) | 4–10 ml |
| Hop water (3–15 ml/hL of water) | 0.6–3 ml |
Approx., scaled from the producer's ml/hL rates to 20 L. Every row fits in one bottle. Measure with a syringe — a millilitre goes a long way.
How to use
- Shake the bottle well.
- Mix the dose into a small amount of beer, or warm (not hot) water, before it goes into the fermenter, tank or keg.
- Swap in stages: the producer's starting point is replacing 25–50 % of your pellets with oil.
- Whirlpool: let the wort drop below 85 °C first. Boil additions are out.
- Always dose ahead of carbonation to keep the head in shape.
Pairs well with
Brewing a tropical IPA? Try it with Nectaron pellets for pineapple and passionfruit, WHC Lab Mango Madness yeast and Crisp Extra Pale Ale as the base.
Storage & shelf life
- Unopened: 2 years. Ambient storage out of the sun is permitted, but cold storage is what the producer recommends.
- Opened: flush with CO₂ or another inert gas, reseal, refrigerate, and use within 2–3 months.
- Do not freeze.
Food information
- Name: Hop oil (liquid hop flavouring), Rakau variety
- Ingredients: hop oil flavour components (Humulus lupulus) in a propylene glycol carrier
- Allergens: none of the 14 allergens listed in EU Regulation 1169/2011, Annex II (based on the producer's declared composition)
- Net quantity: 20 ml
- Country of origin: New Zealand
- Storage: cool, out of direct sunlight; refrigerate after opening; do not freeze
Good to know
- 20 ml bottle. Aroma only — Rakau's bittering power stays with the cones.
- Neat oil is a flammable liquid that can irritate skin and eyes and cause skin allergy, per the producer's safety data sheet. Keep it child-proof and away from heat and flames; it belongs in beer, diluted, never on a spoon.
- Amplifire™ is a trademark of Clayton Hops Limited.
- Brewing ingredients travel from our partner warehouse in the Czech Republic and can arrive before or after the rest of your order.
FAQ
How much Rakau oil for a 20 L IPA?
About 3–4 ml at the producer's 15–20 ml/hL for IPAs; for a hazy IPA, trials start at 20–50 ml/hL, roughly 4–10 ml.
Rakau is dual-purpose — will the oil add bitterness?
No. The oil carries less than 0.1 % each of alpha, beta and iso-alpha acids, so it's aroma and flavour only.
Does the oil go off once opened?
Use it within 2–3 months of opening. Flush the bottle with CO₂ if you can and keep it in the fridge — but never freeze it.