UPDATE Aug 2013 - All 3 S&F fresh hopped beers won medals at the 2013 Brewers Guild NZ Awards. Harvest Pilsner won GOLD, Motueka Pilsner SILVER and Nelson Sauvin BRONZE.
Green-hopped (or wet-hopped, fresh-hopped) beers are a celebration of the end of summer hop harvest. Perfect timing is needed by the brewer to collect the fresh hops from the local hop garden and rush them back to the brewery to retain their natural quality and flavour. The Nelson region is blessed with many fine hop gardens. KentishMan Hops in Upper Moutere are only 20 minutes drive from the brewery in Richmond.
Hops are a perennial plant which come back every spring to soak up the summer sun and then be harvested and (normally) dried. The drying process ensures that the hops can be kept for the next whole brewing year. However, in the hot kiln volatile oils which give hops their very distinctive flavour can be lost. (This is the enormously satisfying aroma as you go past a hop kiln in the evening at harvest time.)
Enter FRESH-HOPPED BEER. This is beer made with hops that did not go through the kiln, did not get dried out and did not lose their volatile oils. The addition of fresh hops gives this most seasonal of beers it's unique, distinctive taste.
We won't go too far into the actual taste of the S&F fresh-hopped beers now as you have the opportunity to win 3 x $50 bar tabs at each S&F Tavern by filling in tasting notes and rating the beers.
See our other post about this fun competition.
Fresh-hopped beers have been very popular in New Zealand in 2013. S&F Harvest Pilsner won a Gold Medal at the Brewers Guild of New Zealand Awards in 2012 and this year Tracy Banner (S&F Master Brewer) has created 3 variations to enjoy over the forthcoming weeks - Harvest Pilsner, Nelson Sauvin Pilsner and Motueka Pilsner.
Like all good seasonal things they won't last long so enjoy them at you local S&F Tavern while they are here...
