Hoppy days are here again

A hop, skip and a jump to a mate’s farm gave a Dunedin brewer the rare chance to make beer using "the freshest hops you can get your hands on".

Arc Brewing Co has concocted a limited four kegs of hazy pale ale, dubbed "Happy Hoppy Farmers", brewed using fresh hops grown in Waitati.

Co-owner Jono Walker said they sourced a lot of their hops from Garston, Nelson and imports from the United States, but the hops used in their latest batch had come from a farm "literally two minutes down the road".

Hops could be grown anywhere with the right sun and wind conditions but were predominantly sourced commercially from Nelson, Mr Walker said.

The owners of the small non-commercial farm were friends who had been coming to the brewery ever since it opened.

"The hops are really vibrant because they haven’t been processed so that they can be stored to use throughout the year.

"So it’s just like a great little ... window into making use of the freshest hops you can get your hands on."

He believed this was the first time anyone had made a commercial beer with hops grown in Waitati.

Hops were normally dried and pelletised at a processing plant so they could be stored and used to produce beer year-round, but there was only "one shot a year" to produce beer using fresh hops, Mr Walker said.

"The aim of the game is ... to get them picked and into your boil kettle as quickly as possible.

"Hops in general degrade after they’ve been picked, so it’s like a fight against time."

The style of brewing was "a logistical juggling act".

"A typical brew day, you just go grab the hops from your chiller and chuck them in your beer ... whereas this, you’ve got just so many sort of things to juggle," he said.

"It’s a bit of a trial by fire."

The end result was a "lovely beer" with a tropical and citrussy flavour.

There was a lot of excitement about the hops coming from two minutes down the road, Mr Walker said.

"It’s quite a unique environment and it’s just cool to just try new things."