A commercial HZSM-5 zeolite (Si/Al=16) was submitted to mild acid treatment and we have found that different conclusions regarding the effect of zeolite acidity may be reached depending on the specific method used for preparing the hybrid catalysts when the overall STD process becomes controlled by the methanol synthesis rate on the Cubased catalyst (i.e. using hybrids with a CZA:zeolite mass ratio of 2:1, that is, with an "excess" of acid sites). Thus, for hybrids prepared by mixing the pre-pelletized components, the same CO conversion and product selectivity (with values approaching those predicted by the thermodynamic equilibrium at the studied conditions) with no signs of deactivation during at least 50 h on stream was attained irrespective of the zeolite acidity. By contrast, significant differences in catalyst stability were found for hybrids prepared by grinding the component powders prior to pelletizing, pointing towards the occurrence of detrimental interactions between the CZA and zeolite components during the grinding preparation stage. Moreover, the different TOS behaviors observed between these hybrids depending on the particular zeolite used suggested that the kind and extent of such detrimental interactions should be tightly related to the acidity and/or chemical composition of the ZSM-5 zeolite.