Hops
Plant & Food Research develops new hop cultivars with unique flavours for use in brewing premium beers.
Our hop breeding programme has pioneered the release of a series of highly successful seedless triploid cutlivars. The breeding programme focuses on developing high performing bittering-type hops as well as novel aromatic-type hops which impart unique flavours to beer.
Our breeding team have 30 years of experience in cultivar development which has seen several successful releases including:
- ‘Pacific Jade’, a high alpha (bittering) type hop with a smooth bittering flavour
- ‘New Zealand Nelson Sauvin’, a specialty hop which imparts a unique fruity, grape-like flavour to beer
- 'HORT7709', marketed as Wai-iti, an aroma type cultivar with a high oil content and alpha acids
- 'HORT3829', marketed as Kohatu®, an aroma type cultivar with noble aroma characteristics
- 'HORT3953', marketed as Waimea, a high alpha cultivar with good brewing properties.