A first taste of the new season
There’s always a lot of excitement in the brewery when the new season hops arrive. Which varieties are going to stand out? Which ones will surprise you? What will be different compared to the previous year's crop?
Because hops are an agricultural product, affected by growing conditions such as weather and soil, there can be distinct variations from year to year. When you work with good hop suppliers, their farmers work to ensure that the hops are of the highest possible quality, so fortunately for us brewers, we never really have to be too concerned.
With the arrival of our first lots of hops from Freestyle Hops from the 2026 New Zealand harvest, it’s no different. Michael was over in New Zealand during the harvest, so he got first-hand experience, but reports are that it was a very good year in terms of the quality of hop aroma.
We’re excited to put that to the test by brewing a beer that showcases what we and the drinker can expect from these hops over the coming year.
It’s quite cool that we will be drinking beer in Rupià in August that contains hops that Michael watched being harvested in a field on a March day in New Zealand.
What makes these hops special?
With Freestyle Hops, we are always confident that we are getting a great product. Their hops are always punchy, never dull or boring. What’s more, we have been able to select certain lots of individual hop varieties that display different characteristics, or that we feel are more suitable for particular beer styles. If you take Nelson Sauvin, for example, we have selected three different lots of this hop from Freestyle. They are all unmistakably Nelson, but we see each one as being more suited to different applications. We have one that we feel is more suited to Hazy IPA, with its rounder, softer fruit character, whereas another is a much more dank version of Nelson that we can’t wait to use in some West Coast IPAs.
We will also bring some hops into the brewery that we haven’t used before. This is always a really interesting process because sometimes it is love at first sniff, but other times it is about finding out how to best use those hops in the context of the beers that we make and in the DosKiwis style. If we feel a particular hop is capable, we might brew a single-hop beer to really see what it brings. From there, you get a great idea of what best to combine it with for future beers.
The idea behind Jet Hazy DIPA
To showcase some of the heavy-hitting hops from the 2026 New Zealand crop, we brewed a Hazy Double IPA with some of our favourites: Nectaron, Nelson Sauvin and Motueka.
The latter two have been near and dear to the hearts of all at DosKiwis throughout the life of the brewery and have consistently been two of the most prized hops to come out of New Zealand.
The other, Nectaron, is a hop that we have used extensively in recent years and have really fallen in love with. It was only released in 2020, but I would say it is probably my favourite hop to be released in the last 10 years.
Pungent, fleshy, tropical
We really wanted this beer to be bursting with lots of tropical and citrus fruit flavours, all highlighted by the now familiar twang that New Zealand hops bring. Specifically, we are looking for lots of overripe pineapple, fleshy peach, white grapefruit and white wine, all with a lime zest top note to sharpen everything up. The first thing to look out for is that initial aromatic hit from the hops. And then, as you drink it, you are going to notice more and more flavours and aromas popping out. These hops are bursting with so many beautiful fruity notes that will continue to reveal themselves as you drink it.
This is a beer for anyone that really loves hazy, hop-saturated flavour and aroma, and anyone that is just really interested in what hops from New Zealand bring to the table.
For me, these beers are for when I just want to sit down and unwind with something that really demands attention. I can enjoy all of the heady notes that it has to offer and have a nice little buzz that a DIPA brings you. That’s normally on a Friday evening, listening to some music or watching something on TV.
Why Jet?
The name Jet is a reference to the modern jetboat which was developed by New Zealand engineer Sir William Hamilton in the mid-1950s. His goal was a boat to run up the fast-flowing rivers of New Zealand that were too shallow for propellers.
And no, it’s not an intended Wings reference…
Just the beginning
There are plenty more beers lined up to come out over the coming weeks and months that are going to be putting all of these New Zealand hop varieties through their paces.
They will be all sorts of hoppy styles, such as West Coast Pils, West Coast IPA, Hazy IPA and more Double IPAs. Some will be blended with hops from other regions, whereas others will focus exclusively on Kiwi hops.
And let’s not forget that some of these hops are the stars of our Core Range. Medes Pils, for example, is a beer that is hopped only with Nelson Sauvin and Motueka hops. Sunny Nelson, our pale ale, is a marriage of Nelson Sauvin and Citra. And what about Rupianum? Yes, it’s a classic American-style West Coast IPA, but we give it a healthy dose of Motueka to really expand on the citrus character that the US hops bring to that beer.
Jet Hazy DIPA · 8% · Nectaron, Nelson Sauvin & Motueka Cryo
Pale yellow and hazy in the glass, with ripe stone fruit leading the aroma alongside mango and papaya over a background of lime, lime zest and a herbal note.
The body is soft and fluffy, and the first sip opens with intense sweet fruit; think caramelized green apple, before the tropical character settles in. The finish turns light and clean, with a gentle herbal bitterness.