West Coast Hop Breeding, a network of six Oregon hop farmers that have teamed up to develop new hop varieties, has released their first varietal called McKenzie.
McKenzie was bred over a 5 year process. Lead breeder Pat Leavy grew up fishing the McKenzie River and came up with the name for the “bright and fruity” hop with grapefruit, lemon, nectarine, and melon aromas that is backed by pine, resin, and wood.
McKenzie has been described as a perfect hop for West Coast IPA and Pale Ales with modern stone fruit, tropical, sweet tart and dank flavors/aromas paired with the traditional piney notes of the pacific northwest.
Typical analytical range is alpha 9-11%, beta 8-9% and total oil of 2.0-3.0 mL/100g.
WCGH established itself in 2016 with plans to focus on varieties that will thrive in Oregon’s unique soil and climate growing conditions.