NZ hops go from humble Minor to stylish Mini
This weekend about 300 Minis will descend on Wellington for Absolutely Positively Mini, also known as the New Zealand Mini Nationals.
The event is a celebration of all things Mini, from the first Austins and Morrises off the production line in 1960, through to the Monte Carlo-winning 1275s and the modern BMW-made supercharged numbers.
After building a reputation by designing the Morris Minor, engineer Alec Issigonis penned the original Mini in 1959. His design broke the mould with a transverse engine, front-wheel-drive propulsion and hydrolastic suspension.
Morris owner Lord Nuffield was uncharitable about the Minor, which he described as a ‘‘poached egg’’. Issigonis took umbrage at the comment and declared that unlike previous cars, the Mini was not going to be a commodity.
Rather, the Mini would change the perception of small cars, marking the Mini brand premium and desirable. Not to mention ‘‘cool’’ with everyone from Enzo Ferrari to Mick Jagger.
Here in Godzone right now, a similar thing is happening in the murky but aromatic world of hops. Hops are the flowers of the many varieties of the hop plant Humulus lupulus. They are used as a flavouring agent in beer and we make cracking good ones.
So good that the world can’t get enough of them.
So good that last year US investment group Freestyle Investors paid US$9.8 million (NZ$14.9m) for a 120-hectare Nelson farm. A price that makes dairy land look cheap as chips.
For a long time in New Zealand, hops were a bit like the poor old Morris Minor. A dumb commodity which delivered solid if unspectacular returns and was controlled by a grower-owned collective of a handful of operators with government-enforced control at the margin.
Production that had been focused on producing a basic commodity for DB and Lion, and that encouraged little on-farm innovation.
The lack of vision and tightness of holdings saw some parochial things happening as the craft beer movement took off. Parochialism that including limited access to premium hop cultivars, command and control around licensing and practical restrictions around sizes of hop farms.
Over the past year, there have been a bunch of gate-crashers to that particular party. Gate-crashers that can only be good for the industry and its long-term economic value to New Zealand.
In July, the Tapawera Hop Garden Partnership staged a $17.64m capital-raise for what will become New Zealand’s largest hop plantation, outside Nelson. The venture features a 116ha hop operation – huge when you consider the average is 20ha.
The offer closed early, fully subscribed and Hop Revolution founder Dr Sue Wheeler reckons global brewers can’t get enough of New Zealand hops and has the figures to back it up.
Currently, Godzone hops make up just 0.7 per cent of the global market and she reckons we could double production and ‘‘not even touch the sides’’ of global appetite for our hops.
She’s clear that our hops have now moved beyond the commodity market, and brewers are prepared to pay for the named New Zealand varietals.
It’s a view that seems to be shared by The Garage Project, Freestyle Farms and the Ministry for Primary Industries.
Last week the three organisations launched a new craft beer and hop breeding programme which aims to develop unique super-premium hops for craft brewers and uniquely New Zealand craft beer for top-tier markets.
The initiative is called Ha¯ pi Brewing Success, and will take the form of a $13.25m, seven-year Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) programme.
The hop-growing enabled by the programme will be supported by research on new precision agriculture practices and processing methods, and licensing for the hops will be limited to New Zealand growers. All of which will deliver premium branding and a sustainable point of difference for New Zealand-grown hops and craft beer.
Garage Project cofounder Jos Ruffell’s aspiration is to have the beer industry achieve what the wine industry has – elevating a New Zealand export to a sustainable global brand that commands premium pricing across all markets.
And, like wine, this could extend to brewers being able to obtain singlesource hops from a particular soil type and a known grower.
The ministry is contributing $5.3m to the seven-year project in conjunction with Garage Project and Freestyle Farms, who are kicking in $7.95m. Together they reckon they can grow local craft revenue to $98m a year over the next 10 years – that’s $80m more than is currently forecast.
If they’re even half right it seems a hell of a good idea. And it spells a further shake-up for a seemingly complacent industry.
Today, you can get any number of small Japanese and Korean cars for $25,000 or less. On the other hand, people pay $43,000 for a Mini Cooper S. That’s the difference between a commoditised product and a differentiated one. And that’s exactly what’s happening in our hop industry right now. Yummo!
Hops are used as a flavouring agent in beer and we make cracking good ones.
Mike ‘‘MOD’’ O’Donnell is a professional director, adviser and writer. His Twitter handle is @modsta and his favourite beer is Pernicious Weed, made from local Nelson Sauvin and Rakau hops.