premium new zealand hops
We grow and sell high quality New Zealand hops.
We supply our hops to brewers and distributors around the globe.
Hops from the Nelson region of New Zealand - which is where our farms are located - are renowned for their unique aromas and flavours.
We present a new and exciting opportunity for the craft beer industry - the ability to purchase highly coveted New Zealand hops direct from the grower.
our people
Our New Zealand hop farms are owned and operated by three brothers: Andrew, Glen and Brian Clayton. So it is very much a family affair. Andrew and Glen run the farms and Brian looks after sales and marketing. The three brothers grew up together on the family farm located in the beautiful and rugged West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand, a mere two hour drive from their hop farms.
We have an innovative, customer-driven and make-it-happen mindset.
We are passionate not only about producing top quality hops for our discerning customers but also about the environmental well-being of our farms for generations to come.
Our farms
We have four hop farms located in the Nelson hops region - the hop growing heartland of New Zealand:
Battery Hill hop farm - located close to Tapawera being about an hour’s drive from Nelson
Blue Rock hop farm - neighbours Battery Hill
Mt Arthur hop farm - also located near Tapawera
Korere hop farm - located 20 minutes from Mt Arthur.
We currently have around 500 acres of hop garden, making us the largest hop grower in New Zealand. This will increase to around 1,200 acres over the coming years as we continue to convert more of our prime farmland into hop garden.
Our New Zealand hop farms are located in picturesque valleys. Water to help grow our hops is sourced from pristine rivers that flow down to our farms from surrounding forested mountain ranges. We are very fortunate that we can produce spray free hops as the risk of our hops being affected by pests and disease is low.
We have installed new Dauenhauer hop picking and cleaning facilities on our farms together with flat-bed drying kilns that are heated by blowing air over hot water radiators - this ensures that our hops are free from exhaust fumes. All of this in the search of producing the best quality hops possible.
Our hops
We grow and supply the following New Zealand hop varieties:
Motueka™ hops
Nelson Sauvin™ hops (note that deliveries will not commence until after our harvest in March 2022)
New Zealand Cascade™ hops
Pacifica™ hops
Rakau™ hops
Riwaka™ hops
Our hops are pelletised (T90s) and packaged in 5-10kg nitrogen flushed foil barrier bags. The pelletising, packaging and cool store facilities used for our hops are new, of a high specification and located close to our farms. We use reputable shipping and cool store providers to maintain quality and deliver our hop pellets to customers around the world.
We offer lot selection for those who are as passionate about perfection as we are. We harvest from late February until late March each year. Broadly speaking our picking windows for the various hop varieties are as follows:
Motueka™ hops - late February to around 14 March
Nelson Sauvin™ hops - around 16 - 24 March
New Zealand Cascade™ hops - March
Pacifica™ hops - last week of February
Rakau™ hops - around 16 - 18 March
Riwaka™ hops - around 4 - 10 March
our customers
We supply our New Zealand hops to awesome brewers around the world. Some are large. Some are small. They are all hugely passionate about their craft and work tirelessly to perfect it. They use the best hops to create the best brews. We raise our hats to them and thank them for their custom, creativity and good company.
