Video Interview: Firestone Walker brewer Sam Tierney discusses New Zealand Hops
Southern Hemisphere hops have exploded in popularity in recent years, especially among craft breweries looking to add bright, tropical and fruity flavors to their hazy and West Coast IPAs. Now, the pioneering California brewery Firestone Walker is going all in on New Zealand hops with a handful of new beers that have recently hit the market. Among these beers is the latest installment in their Luponic Distortion series - number 18 - featuring Nelson, Nectar, Riwaka and Motueka, and the two newest additions to their limited Propagator series: a single hop hazy featuring the new Nectaron hops and a West Coast IPA showcasing the beloved Nelson hops. Some of these beers are available in Firestone's newest Mixed Thru Pack.
Recently, New School contributor Neil Ferguson hosted a virtual tasting and conversation about these new beers and all things New Zealand hops with Firestone Walker Research and Development Brewer Sam Tierny.
Firestone Walker’s Luponic Distortion IPA series hits the ground running in 2021 with a new look and a fresh blend of four hops sourced exclusively from New Zealand. The first of two Luponic Distortion releases slated for this year, this latest edition also features simplified artwork with a bold new hop icon. It is now rolling out to all Firestone Walker markets.
Luponic Distortion is not a single beer, but rather an ongoing series of beers. While the base beer always remains the same, each release features a different hop blend built around new and experimental hops, designed to showcase the growing possibilities of pure hop aromas and flavors without any assist from fruit or other adjuncts.
The latest Luponic Distortion stems from Brynildson’s travels around the Nelson region of New Zealand. There, he befriended multigenerational hop farmer Brent McGlashen, proprietor of MAC Farms, as well as Dr. Ron Beatson, a hop geneticist with New Zealand’s Plant & Food Research public breeding program.
After his initial trip four years ago, Brynildson returned two years later and followed up on emerging hops like Hort 4337, which McGlashen was growing on an experimental basis at the time. Hort 4337 would later be named Nectaron in honor of Dr. Beatson. The name Nectaron is a marriage of “Nectar of the Gods” and Dr. Beatson’s first name, Ron.
“MAC Farms works closely with Dr. Beatson and has become a real proving ground for bringing new hops like Nectaron to the forefront,” Brynildson said. “As a farmer, Brent has boundless enthusiasm and he’s a lot of fun to work with. He’s enabled us to get our hands on ample quantities of some of the scarcest and most sought-after hop varieties.”
Brynildson added, “I got super excited rubbing some of these hops with Brent. He asked me, ‘You want first dibs?’ I said, ‘Let’s go big,’ and that’s how this latest Luponic Distortion got started.”
