Nelson Sauvin off flavour/aroma

[Sam DT]

Hi all, just wondering if anyone else had found this year's crop a bit odd. I use it in most of my NZ style beers for a bit of backbone but have found this year's crop quite spicy and even sulphurous (straight from the pack). Has anyone else noticed anything similar?

[Crusader-Rob]

I can't say I've noticed - I assume I'll get to taste it next weekend?

[Sam DT]

Indeed you will, have to say I do have a bit of a love hate relationship with NS - love it as a background note but can't stand it in single hop beers, maybe it's just me.

[Crusader-Rob]

I've struggled with it in the past, but it can make some quality beers, when used well, like you say generally as a background hop.

I'm the same with Riwaka, its so much better as a background hop.

[Tom]

I don't think I've used this years crop yet but noticed last year was much more Dank than previous years. The once passion fruit/tropical bomb is gone. This was for my beers as well as some commercial beers that use it with heavy hand.

[Sam DT]

Hi Tom, yeah dank is probably a good descriptor for what I'm getting - definitely a real lack of fruit coming through. I noticed it early this year so probably from the 2015 crop - id assumed as the last pack I'd had was from this year as that was the back date but it could have easily been packed from a larger pack from last season.

[Kevin Sharp]

Sam, how do you know that your NS is from this year's crop? One of the big bug bears of NZHops is that they stubbornly refuse to identify the harvest year on hops to home brewers. The only way I've found to buy NZ hops from a particular season is get them from Yakima Valley Hops who presumably buy them on a forward contract.

[Sam DT]

Hi Kevin, yeah good call as above was packed in June but could well have been from a larger bag from the 2015 crop. You don't work at UC do you?

[Kevin Sharp]

I was based at UC for a while, and I still visit people there occasionally, but nowadays I live in Marlborough.