Our fourth hop harvest collaboration with East Coast brewing legends Trillium called for something special. For this, we ventured two hours south of Sunrise Valley, to the new Nelson Lakes Farm, situated in the Mātakitaki Valley. The freshest hop growing location by our friends at Freestyle Farms.
The Mātakitaki Valley is absolutely game changing for the brewing industry here in Aotearoa - presenting a brand new climate and hop growing terroir, yet to be explored. Situated in the Nelson Lakes region near Murchison, its climate is one of extremes - being far colder in the winter and much hotter in the summer. This is the first full hop growing season they've had down at the farm and we've been hanging out to find out what impact this unique climate and soil will have on the hops. We have not been disappointed….
Mātakitaki Valley. Our ‘valley’ series continues with our inaugural beer brewed using hops from the new Nelson Lakes Farm. A hop free boil and massive dry hop addition of hand selected Nelson Sauvin and Motueka create a giant, juicy and unforgettable hazy homage to one of New Zealand’s most exciting new hop growing regions. The finished beer has a dense, smooth, hazy malt base, with an intense ripe mango aroma and tropical fruit smoothie palate - dominated by mango, pineapple, passion fruit and rock melon back notes. It’s Nelson Sauvin and Motueka, but not as we know it.