Last year, American craft brewers collectively looked around the hop market like exhausted treasure hunters staring at an empty chest full of overpriced Citra contracts and whispered the same sacred phrase: “Well hell, what’s growing down there?” Because as craft beer expanded into every neighborhood, mountain town, airport terminal, and yoga-adjacent warehouse district in America, domestic hop varieties became harder to secure and increasingly expensive — the inevitable result of millions of drinkers suddenly deciding they preferred their beer tasting like mango forests, grapefruit rituals, and pine-covered enlightenment instead of fizzy beige compliance.
So brewers turned their thirsty little eyes toward the Southern Hemisphere.
Toward Tasmania and Victoria. Toward New Zealand’s misty green hop valleys that look less like agricultural regions and more like places where elves quietly produce aromatic compounds under moonlight. Australian growers had already been cultivating powerhouse alpha varieties like Millennium and Super Pride, muscular bittering hops that make up nearly a third of the country’s production, while Pride of Ringwood and Topaz stomp around nearby adding spice, resin, and glorious sticky swagger to the whole operation. But then came the newer varietals — the lush fruit-bomb delirium that sent brewers into full tropical hop séance mode.
Nelson Sauvin arrives smelling like sauvignon blanc got lost in a passionfruit orchard sometime after midnight. Galaxy practically detonates with peach nectar and citrus hallucinations. Ella drifts through with floral spice and stone fruit elegance like some mysterious art-school botanist wearing expensive boots. Vic Secret lurks beautifully in the corner offering earthy undertones tangled with pineapple and passionfruit perfume, while Enigma tastes like raspberries and melon somehow learned how to levitate. Topaz carries just enough pine and dank resin to remind American brewers of home before the whole flavor caravan wanders back into exotic fruit territory again.
It’s less a hop movement than a full aromatic migration — brewers crossing hemispheres in search of new sensory religions.
And today, Peaks & Pints in Tacoma’s Proctor District gathers those bright Southern skies, tropical perfume storms, and resin-soaked passport stamps into Craft Beer Crosscut 5.23.18: A Flight of Down Under — a beer flight built for anyone ready to let their palate disappear beautifully somewhere south of ordinary.
Revision Social Fermentation
6.5% ABV, 35 IBU
Ready for a refreshing hop party? Revision Brewing’s hazy Social Fermentation IPA has invited Citra and Mosaic, of course, and their buddy Amarillo, and foreigners Galaxy and Vic Secret out of Australia. It pours a milky light peach color with a thick sticky off white head. A nice tropical nose fills the party. The flavor consists of light, fresh citrus and juicy tropical fruit flavors with some soft sweet almost pilsner malt base. Would have guessed a few more IBUs than the listed 35. Expect a smooth finish with a little fruity sweetness.
pFriem Down Under IPA
7.2% ABV, 65 IBU
Say g’day to pFriem Down Under IPA, a bright copper beer brewed with Down Under hops Taiheke, Motueka, Vic Secret, Nelson and Galaxy. Dip your nose for herbal, cereal grains, mild pepper notes, earthy floral overtones and a touch of honey. Mirroring the aroma, the floral earthy notes are quite apparent up front mixing into the grainy malts and yeasty texture of the beer. As it warms sweet caramel appears in the middle as well as kiwi, strawberry and passionfruit flavors. Finally, it finishes dry and bitter with herbs and pine resin.
Three Magnets Little Juice — Smoothie Edition
6.6% ABV, 65 IBU
There’s a lot of hype around New England style IPAs right now, as the so-called milkshake IPA gains greater and greater notoriety in the craft world. These extremely cloudy India pale ales are the regional style du jour, each new release less translucent than the last, made with hops featuring strong citrus qualities and enough oats to create a cloudy appearance. Three Magnets Brewing Co.’s Little Juice – Smoothie Edition was one of the first in Washington state to brew a fuzzy IPA. And it’s a great one. Australian hop Topaz combines with Citra and Mosaic for a burst of citrus hoppiness — especially orange, tangerine and grapefruit — on the nose. Medium-bodied with a soft, round backbone, Little Juice – Smoothie Edition has sharp, crisp citrus flavors of grapefruit, orange and hints of apricot, papaya, followed by piney and resinous hops, and a dry, biscuity malt base.
Maritime Pacific Chicken Ship IPA
7% ABV, 68 IBU
Maritime Pacific Brewing’s Regatta Series IPA pays tribute to the lowly, forgotten, sometimes neglected boat tender, the “rotten dingy” — the dinghy that hauls people and supplies to and from the main ship. It’s a workhorse that is rarely treated with the respect it deserves. The latest installment in this IPA series is Chicken Ship, a hazy IPA brewed with 100 percent New Zealand Rakau hops for citrus flavors and a stone fruit finish.
Ex Novo Dynamic Duo Project 020
8.3% ABV, 75 IBU
Since opening in 2014, Ex Novo Brewing’s mission is to contribute all — yes, all — of its profits (that don’t get redirected to infrastructure improvements, which is not code for lining any pockets) to its four primary nonprofit partners: Friends of the Children, IJM, Impact NW and MercyCorps. Keep that in mind as you enjoy the Northeast brewery’s Dynamic Duo Project 020, a dual hop IPA series that features Mosaic and New Zealand Rakau hops for this round. It’s dry and tropical with a nice stone fruit aroma.
