Thanks to the generosity of NZ Hops and Firestone Walker, I learned some new information and got to rub some New Zealand grown hops yesterday.
The headliner being the new-ish Nectaron hop. Let’s backpedal a bit though. NZ Hops is a hop co-op that has bine roots stretching back 150 years. The group is comprised of 27 farms with 18 hop varietals sone of which are organic. They have connections with the Plant & Food Program Hop Division and their hop rock star Dr. Ron Beatson, which wraps us back to Nectaron which is slyly named after him.
We have been enjoying New Zealand hops in our beers for some time now but this latest innovation push and increased usage by notable brewers like Firestone Walker means, we will be seeing more of their hops. The photo above shows three of four current beers from FW that feature their hops.
In my one adjective findings Nectaron pellets – Pineapple, Nelson – lemon and Motueka – earthy. In the two beers that I tasted, the Nectaron came through as watermelon plus nectarine and the Nelson was white wine grape. It amazes me that brewers can take one aroma in pellet form and create something new in a beer. Gotta love bio-transformation.
I will review the Elenna and 18th (can you believe it) iteration of Luponic Distortion later this month to round out the NZ hop experience.