Next in our New Zealand hop series of beers is a NZ IPA. The base beer is modeled a bit like a crisp lager, consisting of mostly pilsner malt, with a little corn to lighten up the colour, as well as to give the beer a crisp finish, but we also added a touch of American Munich-style malt to add some body and texture. We used some new, and some familiar hops in this one, going with a blend of Riwaka, Motueka, Kohia Nelson, and, for the first time, Manalita hops. Kohia Nelson adds that delicious passion fruit character that pairs well with the tropical citrus of Riwaka. We layered that with some Motueka, adding a bit of fresh lime peel nuance to the beer, before adding a large helping of Manalita hops in the dry hop. This hop gives a red gummy sweetness, and a pink grapefruit aroma that blends so well with the other tropical hop flavours. After a bit of cold conditioning, we hit this beer with one more NZ hop charge just before packaging, consisting of cold-pressed Wai-iti Hop Kief, which gave the beer a fresh peach and aromatic stone fruit character. As one of the first IPAs going into the warmer months, we wanted to keep this beer bright and aromatic without being too heavy on the palate. A beer best accompanied by some sunshine and a beautiful vista.