Several times a year our brewers head to different parts of the globe for hop harvest. From the Pacific Northwest to Germany and all the way to New Zealand, hop harvest is where our brew team can discover new hop cultivars, revisit some old favorites and meet with the growers themselves. For the latest release of Luponic Distortion, brewmaster Matt Brynildson traveled down under and sourced four emerging Southern Hemisphere hops for this fruit-forward IPA
Bursting with flavors of kiwi, lychee and feijoa.
“We were able to land these hops after a trip to New Zealand during the 2019 Harvest,” Brynildson said. “It was a profoundly educational and eye-opening experience because not only is it an incredibly beautiful corner of the world, but the Nelson hop growing region is a Garden of Eden where a plethora of amazing agricultural products come from, including world-renowned Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc wine grapes. It’s a very different terroir from the Yakima Valley where so many of our IPA hops are grown and the hops from this region have some unique tropical fruit character showcased in this beer.”
The base beer of Luponic Distortion always remains the same, but each new release features a different hop blend built around emerging and experimental cultivars—all designed to showcase the possibilities of pure hop aromas and flavors. This IPA is bursting with notes of exotic and tropical flavors such as kiwi, lychee and feijoa. “While visiting hop farms we had the opportunity to taste some great feijoa fruit and I have to say that the hops grown in New Zealand share some of their unique characters,” said Brynildson. “Although it is a small growing region relatively speaking, it has become an important one for craft IPA producers.”
Seek out a sixpack and see if you’re able to pick up on the fruit flavors that this release showcases. Available now through mid-2020.
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