Hop Federation Green Limousine is among a (very) small cadre of annual fresh hop releases that I consider having achieved classic status. This one in particular, with the brewery’s proximity to the growing regions (the fresh Nelson Sauvin cones here spent all of 30 minutes going from bine to brewery), I look to as a marker for the quality of a given year’s crop. With the quality of the hops harvested this year already widely reported as exceptionally good, it was with high expectations that I cracked into this one.
Explosively pungent Nelson Sauvin radiates off the aroma, carrying gooseberry and crushed blackcurrant leaf over tart passionfruit and crushed green herbs. The palate leads with some old-school rich IPA malt, but once the surge of singular flavours from the Nelson Sauvin catch up there is no stopping them. Firm, focused and keenly bitter IPA that dramatically showcases one of the country’s most standout hops.
