Excelsa

We have a little Christmas present for you: a care package of New Zealand-grown hops! We scored a shipment of Riwaka and Motueka hops, and set out to build a beer around them. Light in body and malt character, Excelsa lets the hops do all the talking.

Both Riwaka and Motueka were bred in New Zealand from Czech Saaz parentage. Like their predecessor, they both exhibit strong lemon/lime character, though they also evoke tropical fruits, a hallmark of the NZ terroir.  Riwaka has a bit more sweet fruit character, while the Motueka lends a bit of an herbal note.

In order to put these exotic hops center stage, we built a malt bill as light as possible with all pilsner malt and a bit of flaked rice. The pilsner malt is made from the Buzz barley variety, developed at Montana State and malted at Linc Malt in Spokane. It’s clean in flavor and a powerhouse in the mash tun, built for beers like this.

We then fermented the whole concoction with our house lager yeast. While most IPAs employ ale yeasts, lagers yeasts produce fewer esters, allowing every nuance of these NZ hops to shine through.

The result is a bright, refreshing, expression of Riwaka and Motueak hops. Look for bright lemon/lime citrus up front, followed by papaya, mango, grapefruit, and a delicate herbal note in the finish. An excellent way to bring a bit of sunshine into your winter!

Excelsa gets its name from Metrosideros excelsa, the scientific name for the Pōhutukawa or New Zealan Christmas tree! This tree blooms a bright red in December (their early summer) and is a symbol of Christmas in New Zealand (like our Christmas trees are here).  It's also a major source of nectar for local honeybees.  Excelsa is derived from the Latin “excelsus” which means “highest”, as in the song Gloria in Excelsis Deo which means “Glory to God in the highest” from Luke 2:14.