I am brewing a wheat beer this week and I wanted to make something with a pretty good orange character. I wanted to get New Zealand Pacific Hallertau because it is described as having a citrus/orange marmalade aroma. Went and bought all the ingredients and realized that I had bought regular New Zealand Hallertau which has a "floral over fresh lime zest" aroma. Huge difference in my beer?
typical wheat beers have little hops. so unless it's a hoppy wheat, or you otherwise planned on using a lot of hops and having a lot of hop flavor, I wouldn't expect there to be a big difference. I put about three ounces of 5%-ish hops in my wheat, typically, and it's not very hoppy at all.
All depends on the recipe and what kind of wheat beer you are going for/what yeast you are using. Hefeweizen? Wit? American Wheat?
NZ Pacific Hallertau is now NZ Pacifica. So yes, these are different hops. Huge difference? Probably not. Besides, they both seem to be of Hallertau descent and they are likely fairly interchangable, though I am only guessing. In my experience, the nuances of the citrus characteritics of hops can be varied. It can depend on alot of brewing variables, but you will be getting citrus if not the exact citrus you want. I have not used NZ Hallertau but I would not hesitate to try it out. This is how great beers are born. You likely won't be excessively hopping a wheat beer anyway. And the citrusy/floral NZ hops I have used were all very distinct in character. I think you will know that your hops are unique for your beer. Cheers.
Regardless of whether you were planning a hefe or wit , or an agressively hopped American wheat beer, my inclination would be to just go with it. In the case of the hefe or wit, the hops will (should?) take a back seat to other flavor and aroma characteristics. In the case of the agressively hopped beer, the different hops are sure to produce different flavor profiles, but you'll stand to learn something an may really like the end result. And you probably won't hate it; it will be beer, after all.
They're pretty different, although both will make an interesting beer. NZ Pacifica is a citrus rind bomb. Very strong citrus rind with some pith and pretty dank/pot-like. It is one of my favorite hops and is very similar to NZ Pacific Jade, but lacks Jade's strong pepper character. NZ Hallertau was much milder with a touch of lime and herbal character.
