The aroma of hops is in the air and this year’s crop has more oil which bodes well for the brews.
At Waimea West Hops, local Nigel Buxton is part of the team harvesting the aromatic crop and getting the flowers into the kiln in preparation for brewers.
Brewer Kelly Ryan says it was a different summer climate this year and that has resulted in high oil content in the hops.
“It’s just what we want, particularly for craft beer – more flavour and more aroma. I’m really excited about it; it’s going to be a good year.”
It’s the only time of year that brewers can produce fresh hops and Kelly says there is a very short window to get hops into the brew.
“The longest we’ve got is 12 hours from picking the hops to getting them to brewers around the country.”
