LIFE
Epic Brewery used fresh hops to create a once-in-a-year IPA, here s what they went through to get the hops to the kettles for brewing.
There aren’t many drinks that start with a dawn dash to the airport, but green hops craft beers do. Using fresh hops is a race against time for Kiwi craft brewers keen to take part in the once-a-year opportunity. They only have a 24-48 hour window to capture the little green flowers’ unique, aromatic flavours once harvested. The clock is already ticking when they re picked in the Tasman area in the wee small hours. They’ll only be good for a few hours more, so it’s onto the first flights out to Wellington and Auckland, into a van and the quickest route to the brewers boiling kettles.