Introducing NZ Rhapzody™, the new rockstar hop that's been described as off the charts! This is the first commercial hop variety to emerge from the Clayton Innovation Project (CIP) – ready to take the brewing world by storm.
CRAFTED WITH YEARS OF TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT
The Clayton Innovation Project works in partnership with the Bioeconomy Science Institute (formerly Plant and Food Research) to evaluate and develop new hop varieties. After years of agronomic evaluation, chemistry analysis, and brewer trials, the hop formerly known as CIP 014 is now ready for the global stage.
NZ Rhapzody™ is a high yielding hop with a high total oil content, and a standout sensory profile of tropical, citrus, and stone fruit, with minimal year-to-year sensory drift. With ancestry including Nugget, Smoothcone, Southern Cross™ and Pacific Sunrise™, NZ Rhapzody™ is sure to appeal to the passionate fans of hop varieties from New Zealand.
HIGH THIOL PRECURSORS
Independent analysis by Nyseos (France) identified elevated levels of 3S4MPol, a key thiol precursor associated with intense tropical aromatics and the classic NZ Sauvignon Blanc character when unlocked through biotransformation. This positions NZ Rhapzody™ as a powerful tool for bio-transformative hopping, and yeast-assisted aroma release.
VALIDATED BY BREWERS WORLDWIDE
Brewers involved in early trials consistently rated NZ Rhapzody™ for its aroma impact, versatility, and consumer appeal. Feedback included:
"CIP 014 really surprised us. It's got this slightly sweet tropical core, loads of passionfruit, mango and pineapple, with citrus that leans more towards orange and grapefruit. Underneath it all it has this bright pine resin note which makes it feel a little more complex. You don't usually expect that from a New Zealand hop, and it makes the whole thing feel really full and mouthwatering."
— Mountain Culture (Australia)
"Consistently requested to be re-brewed."
— 4 Pines Brewery (Australia)
"I was definitely blown away the first time I was able to rub that hop and it has consistently wowed in every crop year that I've smelled it since. It is pretty rare these days to be completely blown away by a new experimental hop, and even rarer when the sensory characteristics make it through to the finished beer. CIP 014 is one of those hops."
— Radiant Beer Co. (USA)
The entire 2025 crop sold out, reinforcing strong global demand.
AVAILABILITY & FORMATS
We have sold out of CY25 stock but NZ Rhapzody™ returns with the March 2026 harvest, available soon thereafter in Faster, Fresher, Better T90 pellets and Amplifire™ fresh hop oil.
MEET NZ RHAPZODY™ IN 2026
- Harvest Launch Party – Nelson, NZ (March 17)
- High Country Hop Harvest – Beechworth, Australia (March 27–29)
- Craft Beer China Conference and Exhibition (April 7–9)
- CBC – Philadelphia, USA (April 20–22)
- BrewAsia – Ho Chi Minh City (October 28–29)
- BrauBeviale – Nuremberg, Germany (November 10–12)
