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Hops Insider: What’s Up Down Under, Oz & Beyond Edition

Hop harvest in the Southern Hemisphere begins soon. In this second of two reports on what’s new with hops down South, we focus on three distinct regions: Australia, South Africa, and Argentina.

Stan Hieronymus Jan 16, 2023 - 12 min read

Hops Insider: What’s Up Down Under, Oz & Beyond Edition Primary Image

Photo: Brendan Holland/Hop Products Australia

Not every hop grown south of the equator packs the intense aromas and flavors found in Galaxy or Nelson Sauvin. At Outer Range Brewing in Frisco, Colorado, cofounder Lee Cleghorn views that as an opportunity.

Outer Range has a history of using so-called traditional hops, such as Halltertau Mittelfrüh, alongside high-impact varieties in their popular hazy IPAs. “They provide a different depth, something herbaceous,” he says.

Thus, when he and brewers at Outer Range first rubbed hops from Argentina, many of which were originally bred to grow elsewhere, they were intrigued. They made a beer with Argentina-grown Cascade, Victoria, Patagonia Red, and Citra. The beer was well received, although they weren’t sure how much of that to attribute to Citra.

They learned more when choosing hops for their annual Summit Club DDH Double IPA. They let club members vote on the hops that would go into the beer, and they put Patagonia Red on the table for them to rub.

“Everybody loved them,” Cleghorn says. “They were enthralled.” The cultivar finished second to Nelson Sauvin in the voting, and both hops went into the IPA. “It had a depth beyond citrus ... honeydew, lemongrass,” he says. The beer earned a 4.33 rating on Untappd.

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