‘The People’ Vote For New Zealand’s ‘Big Four’ Hops In New Brew

‘The People’ have voted, and the hops chosen for Sprig + Fern’s newest hazy pale ale are Motueka™, Nectaron®, Nelson Sauvin™, Riwaka™ – a combination that the Nelson-based brewery says are “as quintessentially Kiwi as they come”.

Haze of the People #2, an aptly-named follow up to August’s Haze of the People, follows the same formula as it’s predecessor, in which beer drinkers were encouraged to influence the hops that would eventually make it in to the brew.

A set of posts shared to the Brewery’s social media accounts in November opened the submissions, which were collated and fed back to the brewing team for potential inclusion.

Callum Duncan, Senior Brewer at Sprig + Fern Brewing Co., said:

“Even though people loved the original, we wanted to try something different the second time around, so set the challenge of only using local hop varieties.

“I was very pleased with the outcome as the four hops that were chosen by the people are some of the best varieties grown in NZ and work incredibly well together”.

The original Haze of the People saw a hop combination of Citra®, Nectaron® and Nelson Sauvin™. Drinkers of Haze of the People #2 can expect a fresh yet familiar set of flavours and aromas – juicy satsuma, ripe pineapple and plump stone fruit. The beer is described as a “pillow soft, silky and sessionable hazy pale ale, perfect for the summer”.

Haze of the People #2 is available on tap at all Sprig + Fern and Little Sprig Taverns from today, for a limited time. While the beer has also been packaged in to 440ml cans and 888ml bottles, unprecedented demand for the product resulted in the 888ml bottles selling out moments after launch. A small number of 440ml cans are still available via the online store, and both formats from various stores nationwide. Demand is anticipated to remain high for Haze of the People #2, so eager drinkers are encouraged to get in quickly.