Out of Stock

NZ Cascade™ Hop Pellets

A hop with remarkable citrus and tropical fruit characteristics.

Aroma Profile

Beer Styles

West Coast IPAs; New England/hazy/juicy IPAs; NZIPAs; APAs; pale ales; lagers; pilsners.

Ancestry

Technical Specifications

Switch Variety

TYPICAL BREWING VALUES

TOTAL OIL BREAKDOWN

Sensory Notes Sensory notes were determined by averaging the % of assessors who reported the presence of each aroma category in dry hop cones on a Check All That Apply (CATA) ballot. Actual product may vary.

Pairing and Swapping

Pairs Well With

Try Instead Of

Disease Resistance

New Zealand has focused on breeding pest/disease resistant hop varieties since the 1940s. The country also boasts a low pest/disease environment for hop growing e.g. no Downy mildew and no Powdery mildew. As a result, chemical spray usage is significantly reduced - for instance, and unlike other countries, we do not use fungicides. This aligns with New Zealand’s goal of being an environmentally responsible country that produces premium natural products.

What is Faster, Fresher, Better?

It’s all about taking quality to the next level.

We target having our T90 hop pellets made and packaged within 3–7 days of harvest, setting a new benchmark for hop pellet quality at scale. This fast processing locks in freshness—unlike traditional systems which can take months and lead to oxidation.

Faster Our modern and high-capacity on-farm harvesting systems, combined with our cutting-edge advanced hops pelletising complex, ensure that our hops are picked in their prime and pelletised quickly. This exceptional infrastructure is unique in NZ’s hop industry.

Fresher Our hops are pelletised and packaged within days of harvest and stored in temperature-controlled environments to preserve freshness.

Better Processing hops quickly in a sealed, clean environment ensures superior quality with minimal exposure to oxygen or contaminants.

HOW ARE
THEY MADE?

Clayton Hops is the proud operator of New Zealand's premier hop processing facility.

HARVEST
Hop cones picked off hop plant in Tasman, New Zealand.
DRYING
Hop cones dried in kilns on-farm.
BALING
Dried hop cones baled and driven a short distance to the pelletising and packaging facility.
MILLING
Dried hop cones milled into hop powder.
PELLETING
Hop powder is then made into pellets in a pellet press.
PACKAGING
Pellets are put into nitrogen flushed (oxygen purged) foil bags and packed in boxes/cartons.
STORAGE
Hops ideally stored between 0–5°C.
SHIPMENT
Hops shipped to customers around the world.

'TRUE-TO-VARIETY'
EXPRESSION

T90 hop pellets bring 'true-to-variety' expression in beer:

VARIETY	AROMA PROFILE
CIP014	Passionfruit, intense tropical, pineapple, stone fruit, pink grapefruit
CIP076	Citrus, orange blossom, ripe peach, creamy vanilla, tropical
Green Bullet™	Resinous, subtle floral, crisp lemon, dark and dried fruit, slightly peppery spiciness
Motueka™	Fresh lime, lemon zest, mojito, orange spice, juicy, tropical
Nelson Sauvin™	Gooseberry, lychee, passionfruit, sauvignon blanc, tropical, spicy
NZ Cascade™	Lime, grapefruit, peach, pineapple, passionfruit, hint of pine
Pacific Sunrise™	Orange, lemon, mango, melon, red berry, ripe and jammy apricot, subtle flower and pine
Pacifica™	Orange, tangerine, clementine, apricot, blackberry cannabis, floral, spice
Rakau™	Apricot, peach, mandarin, tangerine, pink grapefruit, pineapple, floral
Riwaka™	Passionfruit, pink grapefruit, pineapple, lime, orange, citrus, blackberry candy
Southern Cross™	Lemon, lime, hint of pine, clean spiciness

Grown and Made in New Zealand

The New Zealand government has certified the New Zealand grown and made provenance of our T90 hop pellets by giving them the FernMark seal of approval.

Clayton Hops has a strong commitment to both growing and processing locally as this results in better quality product and is environmentally responsible.

Doing everything in-house also means a secure and stable product supply.

WHERE TO USE

Kettle

T90 hop pellets can be used throughout the kettle stage. Hop varieties with a low cohumulone % (e.g. <25%) tend to produce smoother, more rounded bitterness.

Whirlpool

T90 hop pellets can be added directly into the whirlpool as a flavour and aroma addition. To maximise flavour and minimise IBU pick-up, chill the wort to <85°C before adding.

Dry Hop, Active and Post Fermentation

T90 hop pellets are commonly used at various stages of fermentation, including VDK rest and maturation. Active fermentation is believed to support biotransformation. Thiol-rich varieties are especially effective when paired with yeast strains that support this transformation.

Brite Tank

T90 hop pellets should not be used in the brite tank. Amplifire™ Fresh Hop Oil is better suited here.

TYPICAL
BREWING VALUES

The following values are for guidance only. Actual alpha, beta and total oil values will vary from harvest to harvest.

Variety	Alpha Acids %	Beta Acids %	Cohumulone %	Total Oil (mL/100g)
CIP014	12.0–14.0	4.5–6.0	25–35	0.8–1.3
CIP076	8.5–10.0	5.0–6.0	34–37	1.4–1.8
Green Bullet™	11.0–14.0	6.5–7.0	38–43	1.0–1.5
Motueka™	6.0–9.5	5.0–6.0	28–32	0.6–1.0
Nelson Sauvin™	9.0–13.0	5.0–8.0	20–30	0.8–1.5
NZ Cascade™	6.0–9.0	4.0–6.5	35–39	0.8–1.3
Pacific Sunrise™	12.0–15.0	5.0–7.0	27–30	1.5–2.5
Pacifica™	4.0–6.0	5.0–7.0	22–28	0.5–1.2
Rakau™	9.0–13.0	4.0–6.0	22–30	0.8–1.5
Riwaka™	4.5–6.5	3.5–6.0	32–36	0.8–1.0
Southern Cross™	11.0–14.0	5.0–6.0	25–28	1.0–1.3

CARBON FOOTPRINT
— THE PATH TO LOWER EMISSIONS

Refer to the BX Carbon Footprint Study
for more detail and analysis.

2024 Hop harvest

3.75 kgs CO₂e
per 100 L of beer * (includes upstream impacts, farm-level growing and harvesting, processing, packaging and storage in NZ prior to despatch)

3.18 kgs CO₂e
per 100 L of beer * (excluding composting)

The figures assume zero emissions for land use change pending further investigation.

* Reported as a weighted average across hop varieties

BX STUDY RESULTS

Our T90 hop pellets — as independently measured by BX of London — have a carbon footprint of 3.75 kg CO₂e, or, for benchmarking purposes, 3.18 kg CO₂e (composting emissions are typically not mentioned in industry benchmarks).

Putting this into context and for benchmarking purposes, when producing 100 L of pale ale using 500 g of T90 hop pellets, the pellets themselves have a carbon footprint of 3.18 kg CO₂e (source to packaged product including storage before despatch).

OBSERVATIONS

These emissions reflect real-world farming practices. With ongoing improvements in fertiliser efficiency and composting as our hop gardens mature, emissions will reduce.

The use of renewable energy for processing is helpful.

It is worthy of note that some of the measured farmland is comprised of juvenile hop plants with relatively low yields. As the plants mature their yields will increase which will have a positive impact on emissions i.e. lower emissions.

The overall carbon footprint of our T90 hop pellets (including delivered to customer) is helped by the fact that the hops are grown in New Zealand and the product is also made in New Zealand.

Unlike other processors who use semi-processed New Zealand hop materials that have been sent half-way around the world to them, Clayton Hops has a strong commitment to both growing and processing locally as this results in better quality product and is environmentally responsible.