Hop family
New Zealand hops
Varieties from the isolated Nelson breeding programme, carrying white-wine, lime and crushed-fruit character found nowhere else.
The Nelson programme has bred in near-isolation since the 1950s, working with a population that never needed the wilt resistance European breeding was preoccupied with. The results do not taste like anything else: Nelson Sauvin's white-wine character is the famous case, but Motueka, Riwaka and Wai-iti all carry something of the same bright, slightly vinous lift.
New Zealand hops are also triploid and seedless, and the crop is machine-harvested and pelletised close to the field. That consistency is part of why they arrived in export markets with their reputation intact.
What unites them
Bred in near-isolation without the downy mildew pressure that shaped Northern Hemisphere breeding, so selection could favour aroma. Many are triploid and produce distinctive thiol-driven aromas — gooseberry, white wine, lime — that are recognisably a regional signature.
Grouped by where they are grown.
Varieties carrying this character
- Green Bullet
A New Zealand high-alpha hop with raisin, spice and a firm traditional bitterness.
- Kohatu
A New Zealand aroma hop with tropical fruit and pine-needle character.
- Motueka
A New Zealand hop with bright lime and lemon over a noble spice base inherited from Saaz.
- Nectaron
A recent New Zealand variety with intense tropical character, released after a long development programme.
- Nelson Sauvin
The most distinctive hop in commercial brewing: unmistakable white wine, gooseberry and crushed-fruit character.
- Pacific Jade
A New Zealand dual-purpose hop with black pepper, citrus and a soft bitterness.
- Pacifica
A gentle New Zealand aroma hop with orange marmalade and noble floral character.
- Rakau
A New Zealand dual-purpose hop with apricot, stone fruit and resinous pine.
- Riwaka
An intensely aromatic New Zealand hop with grapefruit and passionfruit, in famously short supply.
- Southern Cross
A New Zealand dual-purpose hop with lemon peel, pine and a smooth bitterness.
- Superdelic
A recent New Zealand variety with an unusual red-fruit and grape character alongside tropical notes.
- Taiheke
The New Zealand grown selection of Cascade, and a useful demonstration of how growing region changes a variety.
- Wai-iti
A low-alpha New Zealand aroma hop with delicate lime, peach and apricot.
- Wakatu
A New Zealand hop combining noble floral character with lime and fresh herb.
14 varieties, grouped by character rather than by pedigree — so hops bred elsewhere to a family’s profile are listed alongside its traditional members, and the count will not always match a list of names given above. A hop can also belong to more than one family. The hop index carries every variety.