Galaxy® is an Australian hop with a specific Hop Products Australia profile, not a generic tropical ingredient. HPA describes passionfruit, peach and citrus, with 15.7–19.8% alpha acids and 2.6–3.3 mL total oil per 100 g in its current reference data. A replacement should be chosen by the part of that profile the recipe needs, not by country or price alone.
Galaxy reference profile
| Field | HPA reference | Planning use |
|---|---|---|
| Ancestry | High Alpha Australia and Perle | Identity information, not evidence of flavour equivalence to either parent |
| Flavour direction | Passionfruit, peach, citrus | Rank the attributes required by the recipe |
| Alpha acids | 15.7–19.8% | Use the purchased lot's value for calculations |
| Beta acids | 7.8–9.9% | Reference range, not a packet certificate |
| Total oil | 2.6–3.3 mL/100 g | Does not translate directly into a universal aroma dose |
HPA recommends Galaxy for XPA, Pacific Ale, Hazy Pale Ale, IPA and NEIPA, and its data sheet advises care with hop intensity in lean-malt beers. That is manufacturer guidance, not a fixed dosage or proof that every lot will express the same balance.
Calculate bittering and compare aroma separately
If a hypothetical early addition uses 20 g of Galaxy marked 17.5% alpha acids and an available replacement is marked 14%, holding hop form, timing, volume and utilisation assumptions constant:
20 × 17.5 ÷ 14 = 25 g
This equalises labelled alpha-acid mass only. It does not predict identical measured IBUs or recreate passionfruit, peach and citrus. Check the real packets in the hop substitution calculator.
For aroma, write a ranked brief. A candidate that preserves passionfruit may change peach or citrus; one selected for citrus can lose the distinctive passionfruit direction. Price and availability can be selection constraints, but neither proves sensory similarity.
Screen an available Galaxy candidate
- Divide one base beer into coded equal portions.
- Use the same product form, mass per litre and contact conditions.
- Score passionfruit, peach and citrus separately, then add unexpected descriptors.
- Record intensity apart from preference.
- Repeat with the production lots before changing a full batch.
This is an experiment plan, not a BrewMyBeer tasting or dosage recommendation. Save crop year, packet analysis and coded notes in Beer Lab. Use the hop replacement guide for a broader decision tree.
Source and limits
BrewMyBeer has not independently tested Galaxy or any proposed replacement lot. Current prices and availability were not used as evidence because they change by market and date.
Learning check: what does the 25 g result preserve?
Only labelled alpha-acid mass under the stated fixed assumptions. It does not preserve aroma or prove equal measured bitterness.