For years, brewers wanting to source hops from New Zealand had a sole option to turn to. But the landscape has changed and companies such as Hop Revolution are altering the narrative, dealing directly with breweries across the globe to supply varietals such as Nelson Sauvin, Motueka, Riwaka and Pacific Sunrise. And they’re only just getting started.
Dr Susan Wheeler is a viticulture research scientist by trade that started to look into the wonderful world of hops back in 2012.
Fast-forward eight years and the company she would go on to found, Hop Revolution, is expecting to harvest some 200 tonnes across four varietals in 2021.
Not bad going for someone that, in her own words “got bored of grapes research so decided to read about hops instead”.
Dr Wheeler’s foray into the world of hops started out as a research project, investigating the possibilities of growing Humulus lupulus outside of the Nelson region. But upon seeing how in demand hops from New Zealand were, this research initiative would soon become a commercial one.
“I’d speak to a lot of brewers, especially from the US, and they all told me the same thing: that New Zealand hops were hard to come by. So it became obvious early on that we should do something to change that,” explains Dr Wheeler.
For many years, NZ Hops had the monopoly hops hailing from this part of the world. But following a period vying for access to grow their own, Dr Wheeler was granted a license some four years ago and Hop Revolution was born.
“We became a company, started planting our first farm and from the off, more people got involved, investors came on board and we could see the scale and potential of what we were doing,” she explains.
The company’s first hop garden was planted Tapawera (Maori meaning ‘hot forest edge’). It’s a 110ha property, with the first harvest completed March 2020.
The Tapawera hop garden soils comprise alluvial silt and sandy loams overlaying deep free-draining gravels. These soils are well suited to hop growing and are characterised by low-to-moderate natural levels of fertility and variations in soil depth, typical of a former flood plain. In this garden, they planted a range of Nelson Sauvin, Motueka, Riwaka and Pacific Sunrise.
Jason Judkins, CEO at Hop Revolution, joined the business in January of 2019. Along with Dr Wheeler, he has seen first hand how in-demand New Zealand hops are across the globe.
“Planning and planting such a big garden was a daunting exercise. You’re building the farm up, importing drying equipment from Wolf in Germany and getting everything installed,” says Judkins. “It was a big project, that’s for sure.”
Judkins and Dr Wheeler would travel to the US, attending events such as the Craft Brewers Conference to make connections with brewers and distributors alike. Following these shows the duo, as they explain,” would “cold call” North American brewers so they could visit and explain the Hop Revolution proposition.
“A lot of these brewers were good to give us a go,” he recalls. “We were turning up but we didn’t have any samples at that point. We didn’t have anything! Instead, we explained that we were developing a farm and this is what we can offer.”
Judkins adds: “And we had these brewers saying “Ok, great” let us know when you’re going to have them. They would be sending money to the other side of the world and we would promise to send them the hops when harvest came around. There was a lot of trust placed in us.”
The first harvest from the Tapawera hop garden took place in March 2020. This produced 100 tonnes, all of which was pelletised in Idaho, USA.
The majority of the hops were sold in the USA through direct to brewer sales and distributors, however, the company still has Nelson Sauvin and Motueka in stock for breweries in the UK and wider Europe.
In 2021, Hop Revolution is looking at producing approximately 200 tonnes of Nelson Sauvin, Motueka, Riwaka and Pacific Sunrise. This is where their new hop garden comes in.
Wairua hop garden is located on the eastern side of the Motueka River. Situated at the junction of Old School Road and the Kohatu-Kawatiri Highway, their second hop garden is located approximately 8 km south of Tapawera.
The predominant soil type is Motupiko silt loams derived from Moutere gravels, with low-to-moderate natural levels of fertility and free draining stony topsoil.
This hop garden consists of 115 canopy ha planted with Nelson Sauvin, Motueka, Riwaka, Pacific Sunrise, and also Moutere.
Another 55 ha garden, Bull Paddock Hops, will come to market in 2021 with other trials taking place across different regions of New Zealand.
“We’ve got access to a number of different varietals and, with Wairua, I can see us going from four to probably seven but don’t see moving much beyond that,” he says. “Especially with the core four accounting for 80-90% of our industry.”
These four core hops, as touched upon earlier, are Nelson Sauvin, Motueka, Riwaka and Pacific Sunrise.
Nelson Sauvin, is a triploid variety bred from the New Zealand variety “Smoothcone” and a selected New Zealand male. Developed by New Zealand’s Plant & Food Research and released in 2000, the essential oil profile displays characteristics of “fresh crushed gooseberries” a descriptor often used for the grape variety Sauvignon Blanc, giving rise to this variety’s name.
Offering up tropical fruit, berry, herbal and earth flavours, it has an Alpha percentage of between 12-13%, Beta of 6-8% and oil (mL/100g) of 1-1.2.
Riwaka, as the team explain, has a rockstar reputation. With an almost 1:1 ratio of alpha to beta acids gives it a strong sweet citrus note.
With flavours of grapefruit and kumquat, Alpha comes in at 4.5-6.5%, Beta of 4-5% and oil (mL/100g) of 0.8.
Mouteka, with flavours of lemon, lime and tropical fruit, works in lagers, pilsners and some malt-forward beers. Alpha acids measure between 6.5-8.5%, Beta of 5-5.5% and oil (mL/100g) of 0.6-1.
Hop Revolution is the first grower to plant Pacific Sunrise on a commercial scale. Released by New Zealand’s Hort Research in 2000 and offering up citrus and berry flavours, it has Alpha levels of 12.5-14.5%, Beta of 5-7% and oils (mL/100g) of 1.5-2.5.
With these four core varietals, alongside the others coming online, Judkins and Dr Wheeler and the team are looking forward to working with more brewers across the globe in 2021 and beyond.
“We want to do the best that we can, work with brewers and get their feedback, warts and all. It’s not a transaction but a partnership and a journey,” says Judkins.
Dr Wheeler adds: “We want to be with them for years to come, to improve alongside them and play our part in helping them make more excellent beers.”
