New Zealand hops are all the rage at present and so, after acquiring the lupulistic trio of Green Bullet, Pacific Jade and Nelson Sauvin, it is time for the first Steel City brew hopped exclusively with New Zealand hops!

Green Bullet are "Old Skool" hops, having been around since the 1980’s, but their deliciously hedgerow-esque and leafy character left a strong imprint on my brain from the first taste of West Coast Green Bullet back in the early 1990’s and now we are in the position of being able to create something - hopefully - along the same lines as that classic pale ale! Pacific Jade are a new hop with very interesting characteristics, think lemons and black pepper whilst imparting a mellow bitterness, and surely everyone knows about the bizarre gooseberry, stewed rhubarb, tropical fruit and New World Sauvignon Blanc flavours of Nelson Sauvin by now? Surely everyone does...?

Well, these three hops were the ones used to create a beast of a pale ale which is 4.5% and 89 IBU’s using only Fawcett’s low-colour Maris Otter and a dash of wheat malt. It’s a tribute to the man who did more than most to introduce New Zealand (and many more!) hops into the UK beer scene and so, hopefully, this brew will live up to the legend that is Brendan Dobbin!