| 5 T T Russell Fredric Hops with a real taste of home Garston Hops operates from a generational sheep farm located at Garston, a quiet hamlet situated in a picturesque valley south of Lake Wakatipu. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Garston Hops After starting with just 50 plants and a dream, Garston Hops’ owners, the McNamee family, are crafting a legacy and a reputation that has gone global. Following an initial round of judging, the Northern Southland hop growers have also been nominated as a finalist in the 2025 Datagrid Southland Business Excellence Awards in the PowerNet New & Emerging, and the Invercargill City Council Small Business of the Year Award categories. Garston Hops operates from a generational sheep farm located at Garston, a quiet hamlet situated in a picturesque valley south of Lake Wakatipu. With the addition of hops first planted in 2016 and harvested commercially in 2022, the farm is now a complementary two-tier system. Five New Zealand hop varieties – Motueka, Nelson Sauvin, New Zealand Cascade, Rakau and Riwaka – are grown on 4.8-metre-high poles at 45 degrees south latitude providing cold winters and long summer days. Globally, hops grow best within belts located between 35 and 55 degrees latitude in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. These regions offer the perfect balance of climate, daylight, and seasonal rhythm for healthy, high-quality hops, Lizette McNamee says. “Hops need lots of daylight to produce cones. At 45 degrees south, our plants enjoy up to 15 hours of sunlight in summer, which is perfect for flowering. A proper winter dormancy gives our hops a healthy reset, preparing them for strong spring growth.” Hops are like grapes in relation to the climate, adequate water, and terroir, so consequently Garston Hops produces vibrant, aromatic hops, but with a unique Southland character “that we are excited to offer to brewers,” Lizette says. “Based on all of that with our terroir, you wouldn’t find any hops quite like Garston-grown New Zealand hops anywhere else in the world.” Hops grown by Garston Hops are striking a note with craft brewers worldwide, and rather than simply producing a commodity, the company collaborates with brewers “who help shape what we grow”. “Because we’re small, we can work directly with brewers to trial new varieties, tweak growing techniques, and even experiment with harvest timing. “This means every brewer who works with us gets a selection of different lots per variety – so you can choose the hops that perfectly suit your brewing style.” Garston Hops is proud to support New Zealand craft brewers first, with additional volumes supplied to international markets. “New Zealand is a small market, so we’re producing enough now to export. We’re exporting to Australia, the USA and Canada, and we’re hoping to very shortly sent our first lot of hops to the UK,” Lizette says. “It’s been so good to put Southland on the map. That’s what James always dreamed of. It’s not just to do it for ourselves, but to leave a legacy behind for everybody. Garston Hops now has recognition among the biggest breweries in the world. That’s just amazing.” Garston Hops currently has 22 hectares planted, with the next eight hectares of infrastructure almost completed, and planting planned for late spring this year, for a total of 30 hectares “Starting something like this is not an easy thing to do. Being the first ones in the region to do something new is often hard with a lot of challenges, but we definitely have some people in the community that have been by our side and helped us a lot that we couldn’t have done without,” says Lizette. “I think we have so much to celebrate in Southland, because we are so unique and so untouched and there’s so much for it, so it’s about celebrating all of that.” General farming equipment manufacturing Repairs and maintenance Jet boat repairs and maintenance All engineering requirements. Repairs, Maintenance & Custom Builds. Proudly Supporting Garston Hops 03 248 5005 Contact Us diptoneng@outlook.com mmca.co.nz We’ll help you build a smarter, better business. Chartered Accountants | Business Advisors We’re proud to support businesses like Garston Hops. Contact CWS today for all your clean water needs Water Testing - Filtration & Water Treatment Irrigation Design & Install - Pumps - Tanks - Digger Hire Parts & supply of a full range of fresh water solutions from dripline, pipe, hoses, valves, pumps and a range of fittings. Leaders in horticultural irrigation design, installation & supply Proud supporters of Garston Hops www.cwsnz.co.nz 03 5280040 admin@cwsnz.co.nz
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