Never heard of Nectaron hops? Join the club. It’s a newbie, developed by researchers in New Zealand and recently released to the craft beer market, joining a list of varieties that exceeds even the types of India Pale Ale out there. There’s regular old IPA, double and triple IPA, hazy, sour, West Coast, English – how much space do we have?
What has brewmaster Jeffrey Vitalich of Hidden Hills Brewing & Blending in Carmel excited is the potential of this new hop for the IPA style. “It’s going to be real big,” he says.
Vitalich has already introduced the hop to his lineup at Hidden Hills. Nimbus Nectar is a juicy IPA that showcases Nectaron’s unique qualities. Unlike the resinous bite that many hops bring, Nectaron is like becoming lost in a tropical paradise – full of pineapple, passionfruit, grapefruit and fresh stone fruit essence that it is eager to impart to beer. In other words, perfect for the citrus squirt of a juicy IPA.
Juicy IPAs tend to be fruit-forward. Yet Vitalich has a deft hand. So in Nimbus Nectar, he steadies the bright fruits with a base of California barley and Waimea hops. The result is a smooth, easy balance, with a sharp peppercorn note, a dry and mellow malt and hints of sea breeze that calms the fruitiness, as the barley lends a silky mouthfeel to an otherwise light, effervescent IPA – one so cheerful it disguises its 6.5-percent belt of alcohol.
There’s a lot going on in this clever, juicy beer.
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