Local craft beer drinkers are about to get a dose of extra fresh, fresh-hopped beers. In celebration of the annual hop harvest, New Zealand's best brewers gather the freshest locally-grown hops to make the freshest beers imaginable.

The flowers that grow on the vine of the hop plant impart floral, fruity and citrus aromas. Normally, these flowers are dried to preserve their flavour, to be used for brewing throughout the year. But in the process their full impact becomes muted. Fresh hops, on the other hand, are the genuine undiluted article. The greatest care is taken to expedite the transport of fresh hops from harvest to brewery. Every moment the newly extracted hops spend in transport, the more the delicate flavours and oils begin to deteriorate. Hence brewers race to get the fresh hops to the brewery in record time.

The end result of this painstaking effort are beers that are loaded with fresh organic flavour. The difference in flavour is similar to that of something fresh-off-the-vine ripe. These beers showcase the efforts of local growers and craft breweries alike.

Coming to our shelves in April, they will only be available for a limited time.