Is your Fresh Hop lacking pop?
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Are your fresh hop beers lacking a little pop this year? It’s been a common refrain that I’ve seen on social media — from Facebook groups, to Instagram to Untappd.
I’ve noticed it with a few of the fresh hop beers I’ve tried and initially put it down to my new fridge being too cold! Definitely a couple I’ve had improved with some temperature increase. But when one brewer told me his fresh hop beer was a little down on aroma, it came with the explanation of: “weather”.
New Zealand had a wet spring and summer, there’s no doubt about that. And in the Nelson growing region, the hangover from an extremely wet winter had an impact as well.
Hops need ideal growing conditions that include a frosty winter, and a sunny, dry summer to maximise their flavour and aroma compounds. It’s all about stress, as major hop grower Brent McGlashan of Mac Hops explained it to me.
The right stress at the right time causes the plant to respond in a manner that maximises our enjoyment of their flavour.
As McGlashan explained, the wet winter put the hops on the back foot — they started growing without a “full tank of gas” he said — because they went through a wetter, warmer, winter not a crisp, cold one. And the mid-summer period was a bit more overcast and wet compared to normal years meaning the hops didn’t lose as much moisture over the hotter months and were not stressed enough.
There’s an incredibly complex series of chemical reactions that go on inside the hops plants, or as hop guru Ron Beatson describes them: they are “chemical factories” and this year the factory was a little under-powered.
McGlashan notes that while some varieties are down on aroma, newer varieties such as Nectaron and Superdelic are quite high in those compounds as they have only been in the ground for a short time so their younger roots weren’t so badly impacted by the wet start to the season.
The upside is that the kilning process for making pelletised hops goes some way to opening up those aroma glands so pelletised hops from this year should still be as expected.
McGlashan says drinkers should temper their expectations with some hop varieties, noting that the big “dank” character from some varieties may not be there, but equally Riwaka is producing a really “long” flavour profile when it’s often all up front.
He recommends the fresh hop version of Parrotdog’s Sundog to get an idea of that length of Riwaka flavour (and I would add Urbanaut’s Fresh Hop Riwaka, as that flavour goes on and on).
He also raves about Eddyline’s Project 11 (if you can still find it) as an example of what fresh Motueka and Taiheke bring, which are more subtle and delicate yet still expressive flavours. He noted that brewers from overseas for harvest were raving about this almost perfect example an early-season fresh hop beer.
He noted Nelson Sauvin was back to its “normal self” with big diesel and white wine aromas after being a bit more passionfruity last year.
And on the question of whether these weather conditions are going to be more permanent thanks to climate change, McGlashan said the long-range forecast for next summer was a return to El Nino conditions after La Nina conditions for three seasons so he’s hopeful of more typical conditions a year from now, but also noted that whatever conditions they get, extremes are going to be at play. “Where we used to get say 25ml of rain in an event, we are now likely to get 60 to 80ml”.
All of which brings me to …
Beer of the week No 1
Sometimes I think I go on a tear with certain breweries, like I have one of their beers and it’s very good, so I have another and another and another before you know it, I’m a giggling fanboy. So it is with Alibi at the moment. I can’t remember when one of their beers didn’t hit the mark and for me they are the top of the tree this Fresh Hop season so far — that said I’ve still got around 15 fresh hops beers in the fridge(s). But wow, this one blew me away. It was so prickly and green and tasty and fulfilling. It says on the tin there’s flavours of kiwifruit skins and as someone who eats his kiwifruit skin and all I can testify to the spot-on-ness of this descriptor.
In other quick news updates before we dive into more fantastic beer news. Zeelandt’s Back on the Horse charity beer to raise money for Cyclone Gabrielle emergency workers sold out in just days, so kudos to everyone who bought some. You’re all heroes too!
And a reminder that if you want to come and hear myself and Richard Emerson talk about writing his biography, The Hopfather, at the Featherston Booktown event on May 14, you can get tickets here. On that note, congrats to Dan from Wellington who won the double pass to the event.
A festival not to be missed
The Far North is getting its first beer festival and I reckon the winterless North appeals as a great beer destination in July.
Dubbed The Brew of Islands festival, it will be held in Kerikeri over Friday & Saturday July 21-22.
It’s an amazing chance to try beers from breweries in the area including New Zealand’s champion microbrewery Kainui, Phat House and Bay of Islands Brewing.
Parrotdog, Garage Project, Urbanaut, McLeod’s, 8 Wired and Cassels will also be there, with the organisers keeping it boutique.
The event is the brainchild of Tyler Bamber, publican at the Pioneer Tavern in Waipapa, and Turner Centre general manager Gerry Paul.
Bamber ran a ski resort in Canada, an old English pub, an Auckland gastropub and an Irish bar before bringing his hospitality expertise home to Northland.
The Wellington Sea Shanty Society, Kiwiana Americana band T-Bone and local rock-reggae fusion band Norizon will provide entertainment and there will be a courtesy shuttle for punters, who will be asked for a $5 donation per trip.
The festival will be held over three sessions: 6pm-10pm on July 21, 12pm-4pm & 6pm-10pm on July 22.
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