NSW IPA

While we acknowledged we in fact WEREN’T from Tassie after releasing the Tassie IPA in August, we’ve stayed quite close to home with the release of our NSW IPA. 

NSW IPA

It is said that the first successful hop plants grown from seed in Australia were produced in NSW around 1803 - and by all accounts these were prettttttyyyy terrible. 

Former convict James Squires (sound familiar?) hand selected the more flourishing plants and managed to successfully propagate these at Kissing Point on Sydney's Parramatta River in the early 1800’s which resulted in a successful and healthy 5 acres of hops.

Mr Squires was also credited as establishing Australia’s first brewery on that very site - but we’re not here to gas him up so lets get back to the hop growing!

Hop growing in NSW is primarily situated around the Bemboka region on the south coast with Ryefield Hops being one of the most significant commercial growers in the region. This region is ideal for hop growing due to its perfect climate for successful hop fruiting.

Ryefield are a family owned business, dedicated to producing sustainable hops grown using regenerative agriculture principles that foster healthy soil, biodiversity and improve water quality and retention. 

The two main hops we’ve focused on with the NSW IPA is Beedelup and Chinook.

Beedelup is a hop with a back story! First introduced to WA from the Eastern states around 2016/17, it was initially sold to brewers under the name “Victoria” and grown across a variety of hop farms. But lab analysis conducted in 2021 showed “Victoria” didn’t match any of the known Australian varieties of hop - so this little one needed a new name!

In recognition of WA’s historic brewing and hop growing industry, Beedelup took its name. Named after the hop growing region in Pemberton that supplied Swan Brewery until the late 1970’s. 

Beedelup is characterized by its modern brewing qualities - intense tropical and stone-fruit aromas with the addition of resin and spice, as well as citrus and vanilla notes. 

Now Chinook doesn’t have quite the backstory - but it has undertaken quite a journey to get here. Chinook was born out of Washington State University's hop breeding programme during the 1980’s, where it was selected as just a seedling from a cross of a female English hop and a male hop labelled USDA 63012M. The name Chinook was inspired by the Chinook Native American tribe indigenous to the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, where it was developed. 

Chinook is a robust, dual-purpose hop thats known for its powerful combination of bright citrus, pine and spice. Chinook adds character with its soft resin and subtle herbal notes and makes the perfect dry hop addition for punchy IPA’s!

Where should we focus on next? 

NSW IPA is now available in our online store, in venue & you can check your local bottle-o for stock!