As the specialist hop supplier in Australia, we’re always looking to grow our portfolio to offer our customers even greater choice and diversity. For years we’ve been aware of the opportunity on our doorstep, but our commitment to provide quality hops backed by supply surety meant we needed to wait for the right conditions to come along. And so, we’re excited to announce that we now supply Motueka™, Pacifica™, Rakau™ and Riwaka™ grown by Clayton Hops.
Clayton Hops, a shareholder of the NZ Hops co-operative, is owned and operated by the Clayton brothers – Andrew, Glen and Brian – with the support of their respective partners Rebecca, Sara and Sarah. Andrew and Glen run the farms while Brian looks after sales and marketing. The three brothers grew up together on the family farm on the rugged but beautiful West Coast of the South Island, a mere two hour drive from their hop farms. As a result, they’ve developed an innovative, customer-driven, make-it-happen mindset, and they don’t mind having a bit of fun along the way.
They are the biggest hop growers in the country with four farms totalling 200 hectares in Nelson, the hop growing heartland of New Zealand. But the Clayton’s have even bigger plans in store. Clayton Hops are already in the process of converting prime farming land over the coming years, which will more than double their hop gardens to around 500 hectares in total.
Their farming practices, picking, drying and pressing processes are all state of the art to ensure the highest possible quality. We’re really looking forward to placing these very special, highly aromatic hops in the hands of our brewing customers:
- Motueka™ – a crowd favourite that has a fresh crushed citrus, mojito-like character with notes of lemon-lime and tropical fruit.
- Pacifica™ – a lovely aroma hop with a spicy dried fruit or delicate orange marmalade character.
- Rakau™ – a popular dual purpose hop with a ripe stone fruit character and bright notes of grapefruit.
- Riwaka™ – a unique aroma hop with a big tropical passionfruit character.
If you like the sound of any of these flavour profiles, get in touch with your local Sales Rep today:
