Hops harvested under a new moon: 90 breweries around the world are putting it to the test
· Written by El pana ClaudioEggers Hops, a sixth-generation hop farm in New Zealand's Moutere Valley, harvested a special batch of Nelson Sauvin under March's new moon. That same hop is now showing up in beers from about 90 breweries across 16 countries, from Japan and Brazil to France, the UK and the United States, where 42 are taking part.
It's the second year of the Terranean Project, Eggers' experiment to understand what shapes a hop. Co-founder and chief horticulturalist Kem Eggers says he has always been curious about what really drives hop maturity and aroma. Soil, weather and picking time are known factors; the question is what else might be at play, even up in the sky.
The lineup runs from tiny taprooms to big names. Aliment Brewing sits about 18 kilometers from the farm; Norm Brewing in Belgium is about 18,000 away. In the U.S., the first release was DRENCHED New Moon, an 8.8% double IPA from New Jersey Beer Co., with the rest rolling out through October and November.
Why it matters: Whether or not the moon works any magic, there's something really cool here: nearly a hundred brewers using the exact same hop, each in their own way. It's a free lesson in how the recipe and the brewer's hand change the result. If you run into a beer labeled New Moon on a trip, now you know the story behind it.