Southern Hemisphere hops have changed the game, but one New Zealand hop in particular has brewers moving to planet Nectaron. Historically, hop growing regions were centered in Germany and the UK, before the pacific northwest became the dominant center of the hop world in the early 90’s. It wasn’t until the new millennia when varieties like Nelson Sauvin got brewers re-evaluating what that part of the world could offer up in hop innovation, and the results have changed the flavors of the modern American IPA. These days some of the most desireable hops in the world come out of South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, where the only recently released Nectaron hops come from.

What makes New Zealand hops special is a chemical composition that yields an essential oil and alpha acid combination that is unique to that country’s southern hemisphere terroir. The Nectaron hop is the product of hybridizing the best elements of it’s sister variety Waimea and a daughter of the Pacific Jade hop that yield a proprietary triploid aroma type.

It took 17 years in development collaboration with New Zealand’s Plant & Food Research and hop broker NZ Hops Ltd. to craft Nectaron. First bred in 2004, Nectaron was shepherded by multi-generational 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. The hops initial codename HORT 4337 would later be named Nectaron for a marriage of “Nectar of the Gods” and Dr. Beatson’s first name, Ron.

Known for the high levels of tropical fruit character, namely pineapple and passion fruit, as well as stone fruit (peach) and citrus (grapefruit), Nectaron is the hottest southern hemisphere hop on the market, but not the most common, as varieties like Motueka are a lot easier to obtain by small craft brewers. The relatively low acreage and yields that outstrip demand for NZ hops also probably has something to do with the hype among craft brewers.

“Nectaron was a hop we had been hearing about but we were having a hard time finding some,” says Pelican Brewing’s R&D Brewer, and Director of Barrel-Aging, Scott Mohr.

Nectaron’s renowned qualities had made it the #5 most desired hop variety according to a recent Brewers Association survey, astounding results for such a brand new variety. This made Nectaron difficult to get even for one of the country’s most award-winning breweries and one of Oregon’s largest brands like Pelican. But they did eventually get their hands on a case of T-90 Nectaron hop pellets thanks to a fellow coastal brewery. It lived up to the hype.

“From the moment we opened the case, our excitement grew. We were getting very bright notes of passionfruit and peach, and a slight bit of dankness,” recalls Mohr. Nectaron has become a go-to hop for hazy-styles of IPA, but right from the beginning the Pelican brewers imagined it in an American-style IPA that captured modern day tropical hop flavors and aromas in a brighter, crisper beer that would let the hops take center stage. “We felt that if we made it a Hazy IPA, the yeast profile could overpower or muddle the true characteristics of the hop that we felt made this hop special,” says Mohr.

To let the Nectaron shine, they designed a simple grist of just base malt and malted white wheat for body, a clean California Ale yeast employed to bring the tropical and passionfruit notes to the forefront. The finished beer, brewed on the small scale R & D brewhouse in Cannon Beach, was even better than they imagined as the brewers were surprised with a grapefruit and lemon flavor that emerged like rings around a solar system. The decision was made to scale it up to a larger draft-only version at Pelican Brewing’s main large batch production facility in Tillamook, but the experienced brew team knew that beers don’t translate perfectly when brewed at different facilities. The more citrusy elements detected on the pilot batch became more tropical when fermented in much larger tanks with the passionfruit now dominating.

By 2021 the craft beer industry trade group the Brewers Association had recognized the distinct influence and popularity of New Zealand-grown hops and added an entirely new style to their annually updated guidelines. New Zealand-style Pale Ale and New Zealand-style IPA officially made their debut as nationally recognized new sub-styles of beer. The BA defines these beers as having high to intense aroma and flavors of floral, fruity (tropical, stone fruit and other), sulfur/diesel-like, citrusy and grassy characteristics.

Pelican Brewing wanted to capture all of that into the most pure showcase of planet Nectaron on the market. Following an often cited philosophy that the last hop to touch a beer will feature most prominently in flavor and aroma, the brewers decided to amp up the dry-hop addition with solely Nectaron hops hoping to carry through to the finished product. The expedition to Planet Nectaron was a success, and the beer is now a permanent member of the Pelican line-up in their new 16oz 4pack format.

Growers have been raving about the 2022 Nectaron® crop which was just harvested in February and March since New Zealand’s seasonal calendar sits opposite North America’s. Both first-year planted fields and mature plantings yielded good crops, with quality manager and grower liaison Lauren Yap noting, “The quality of the crop has been exceptionally high, with great aromas, a lot of cones harvested off of the bines abundant with golden lupulin.” 

Nectaron® yields were high but the forward contract demand on these varieties is also very strong and there will be very limited availability for spot sales while the 2023 crop looks to sell-out in advance.