Hop Products Australia (HPA) is excited to introduce Luna^®, a new variety from their innovative hop breeding program and the next chapter in beer flavour. Luna^® is distinguished by its lush mango, dark berry and spicy citrus characteristics, alongside a high polyphenol content that elevates the flavour profile and mouthfeel to round out the palate. It seamlessly complements other modern hops and lends itself to many popular beer styles. From Pilsners to IPAs, Luna^® offers brewers creative flexibility backed by agronomic reliability.

When Dr Simon Whittock took over the HPA breeding program in 2007, he began sorting through the experimental hops in search of lupulin gold, and selected what would become Vic Secret™, Eclipse® and Luna® for extensive field trials. Luna® was selected for its early harvest window, but has always performed well in brewing trials. Brewers soon discovered the lush mango, dark berry and spicy citrus flavours of Luna® perfectly complement other modern hops and many popular beer styles. This is just the beginning of a commitment from HPA to bring new Australian hops to market more often based on selection criteria covering agronomic performance, flavour impact, and innovative product opportunities.

“Luna’s seriously good in beer” says Ross Terlick, Head Brewer at Rocky Ridge. “It creates some beautifully complex notes of spicy citrus on the hot side, and juicy mango on the cold side. I can see Luna becoming a very popular hop. I honestly reckon it’s going to rival Galaxy.” Colin Lenfesty, Founder and Head Brewer at Holy Mountain agrees. “We were blown away by Luna! Using it in a West Coast Pilsner, we got big notes of tropical fruit and citrus. It has a lot of potential and we’re looking forward to brewing with it again soon.”

Breeding

Luna® 03-277-033 c.v. was created by HPA’s breeding program in 2003 through a cross-pollination of high alpha Australian and Liberty parents. It’s the latest progeny of a triploid breeding strategy designed to produce high impact dual-purpose hops that are more sustainable to grow, impart complex fruity characters, and support greater brewing quality at low cost-of-use relative to performance in beer.

Growing

A near-perfect growing season resulted in a strong agronomic performance from this early maturing hop. New plantings continue to mature and produce higher yields, with metabolite accumulation meeting expectations. Oil and alpha content remain steady following a production increase.

Pure Hop Pellet Technical Data Sheet

KEY FLAVOURS

• Mango
• Passionfruit
• Blackberry
• Blackcurrant
• Orange
• Grapefruit

ANCESTRY

High Alpha Australia, Liberty

ANALYSES

CULTIVATION AREA: Australia

ALPHA-ACIDS*: 13.2 – 15.0 %

BETA-ACIDS: 7.5 – 8.2 %

TOTAL OIL: 1.9 – 2.5 ml/100g

MYRCENE: 38.0 – 44.0 %

CARYOPHYLLENE (% OF TOTAL OIL): 9.0 %

FARNESEN (% OF TOTAL OIL): 0.1 %

LINALOOL: 0.7 %

SELINENE (% OF WHOLE OIL): 2.0%

*Alpha acids are determined by conductometric titration (EBC 7.4) in Europe, by spectrophotometry (ASBC Hops-6) in the USA. Oil composition is determined by gas chromatography (ASBC Hops-17, EBC 7.12).

BarthHaas® are the experts of hops for the best beer taste worldwide

BarthHaas® Pure Hop Pellets are the very best incarnation of each hop variety. The original hop substance is efficiently processed and enriched at extremely low temperatures creating a stable and durable product.

In 225 years, BarthHaas® has grown from its roots as a Franconian hop merchant to become an expert in flavour for the best beers all over the world. As massive as the changes have been, one factor has remained unchanged over the centuries: our love for hops!

A quality product:
the most important ingredient in brewing

BarthHaas wants to allow brewers like you to concentrate on what you do best – creating first-class beers. To achieve this aim, our approach to quality assurance is uniquely comprehensive. We work with our growers to ensure that the hops you use could not be of a higher quality. Find out more about how we guarantee optimum quality.

The highest standards for the best hops: we are satisfied with nothing less. Because hops are one of the most important ingredients in the brewing process. To meet this demand, BarthHaas has introduced a comprehensive quality management system (QMS) [RS1] based on the proven ISO 9001:2015 standard. Our QM system also includes a concept that guarantees optimum product safety on the basis of international HACCP guidelines. An important focus of this concept is the BarthHaas test guarantee [RS3], which is unique in the hop industry to date.

We contract and source our hops from the finest merchants and farms around the world, ensuring you get the chance to brew with the same high quality product that professional breweries use.

Using mylar bags which prevent light degradation of the hops, flushing the bags with nitrogen to remove oxygen and cold storage of them until ordered by you, ensures the hops are as fresh as possible.

If you want to learn more about hops and how to use them then check out our Help Centre where you will find blog posts and our Brew With Us ESSENTIALS and we also have some great content on our YouTube channel about hops too.