FACES BEHIND THE FLAVOUR
Hop Grower Stories | Filmed at Craft Brewer Conference 2026 Paul Corbett chats to the hop growers behind your favourite American and New Zealand varieties.
COULD YOU UNCOVER YOUR NEW FAVOURITE HOP ON THIS WEEK'S EPISODE?
FEATURING YOUR FAVOURITE HOP GROWERS STORIES FROM NORTH AMERICA AND NEW ZELAND
Let’s here some stories from the hop yards.
Recorded at the Craft Brewers Conference in the USA, Faram’s Paul Corbett sits down with our North American hop grower friends to chat about their farms, families, shining varieties, and growing conditions behind influential hops.
Featuring some of the best hop growers from around the world!
Stacy Puterbaugh (Puterbaugh Farms), John Segal (Segal Ranches), Eric Sannerud (West Coast Hop Breeding) and Brent McGlashen (NZ Hops Grower)
FIVE MINUTES WITH FARAM
HUGO FULLERTON FROM RENEGADE BREWERY
Five Minutes with Faram – Renegade Brewery
Jon Stringer:
What’s your current favourite hop to work with and why?
Hugo Fullerton:
That’s such a good question. One of the great things about brewing is getting to work with so many different hop varieties over time. Over the last couple of years, I’ve really loved working with Harlequin®. It’s an amazing aroma hop and the fact it’s grown here in the UK makes it even more exciting. We’ve been getting really vibrant flavours from it and last year we brewed a seasonal hazy pale using 100% Harlequin®, which went down really well.
More recently, I’ve also been really interested in some of the experimental varieties coming through, especially NZH-106 from New Zealand. We’ve been trialling it on a pilot scale and hopefully we’ll be using more of it soon.
Jon Stringer:
Tell me about a beer epiphany moment, either in the brewhouse or drinking beer somewhere memorable.
Hugo Fullerton:
From a brewing process side, a big moment for us was experimenting with whirlpool temperatures. When I joined Renegade nine years ago, all our hops were added traditionally throughout the boil and whirlpool, but we weren’t really adjusting temperatures much.
Once we started lowering whirlpool temperatures, it completely changed the aroma profile we could achieve, especially for hazy pale styles. It was a real game changer and helped us evolve from being more traditional into a more modern craft-focused brewery.
Jon Stringer:
What temperatures are you working with now?
Hugo Fullerton:
We’re typically dropping down to around 80°C in the whirlpool. You get much lower hop utilisation but a huge increase in aroma retention. Combined with heavy dry hopping, it really helps create those juicy flavours people are looking for in modern pale ales.
Jon Stringer:
What’s an underrated ingredient brewers should pay more attention to?
Hugo Fullerton:
Water chemistry, definitely. Brewers understandably get excited about malt and hops, but water is such a huge part of beer. If you’re not adjusting your mineral profile to suit the style and flavour profile you want, you’re missing a trick.
We’ve got fairly hard water here, so we have to be creative with our salt additions depending on the beer style. Whether it’s enhancing bitterness in a West Coast beer or boosting softness in a hazy pale, water makes a massive difference.
Jon Stringer:
What’s your most memorable brew day moment, good or bad?
Hugo Fullerton:
On the bad side, every brewer makes mistakes. I’ve definitely accidentally diluted beer more than I should have by leaving a valve slightly open. Everyone in brewing has those “head in your hands” moments.
But on the positive side, there’s nothing better than taking a recipe you’ve worked on at pilot scale, scaling it up, and finally tasting the finished packaged beer. That’s a really special moment.
Jon Stringer:
What do you wish drinkers understood more about brewing?
Hugo Fullerton:
I think people sometimes say they “don’t like beer,” but beer is such a broad category now. There’s genuinely something for everyone, whether that’s traditional ales, lagers, fruited sours, pastry stouts, or low-alcohol beers.
The range of styles available today is incredible and it’s evolved massively even in the nine years I’ve been brewing.
Jon Stringer:
Lagers are often underestimated in terms of how difficult they are to brew well.
Hugo Fullerton:
Absolutely. There’s nowhere to hide in a lager. You’re aiming for a crisp, clean beer, so any off-flavour stands out immediately. They can actually be some of the hardest beers to get completely right.
Jon Stringer:
Outside of brewing, how do you switch off?
Hugo Fullerton:
Most of my time goes towards my two-year-old son Max. Watching him grow and learn new things has been amazing, although he definitely has more energy than I do these days.
Aside from that, I love sports, especially tennis, and I’m really into music. I play electric guitar and keyboard at home, which is a good creative outlet away from brewing.
Jon Stringer:
What beer are you desperate to brew that you haven’t managed to yet?
Hugo Fullerton:
I’d love to scale up some of the barley wines we’ve been experimenting with on pilot kit. We’ve had really positive feedback from customers and I think there’s definitely appetite for it locally.
I’d also love to do more with sour beers and continue experimenting with more niche styles. One of the best parts of brewing is constantly making something different.
Jon Stringer:
For anyone who doesn’t know, where exactly is Renegade Brewery?
Hugo Fullerton:
We’re based in Yattendon in West Berkshire, right in the countryside between Reading and Newbury. We’ve got a great taproom here, so if you can arrange a designated driver, it’s well worth a visit.
Jon Stringer:
What skill separates good brewers from great brewers?
Hugo Fullerton:
Technical brewing knowledge is hugely important because it helps you solve problems and understand processes properly. But attitude matters just as much.
Brewing can be stressful, especially in summer when workloads are high, so keeping a positive atmosphere and looking after the team is really important. Brewing should still be enjoyable, even when things get busy.
Jon Stringer:
If you had to choose a traditional hop variety, Fuggles, Goldings, or maybe something else, what would you pick?
Hugo Fullerton:
For us at Renegade, it’s Bramling Cross. We’ve used it for years in our Best Bitter and Golden Ale. It gives this lovely earthy, hedgerow fruit character with blackberry notes that really suits traditional British beer styles.
It’s a hop we absolutely love using and don’t plan on moving away from anytime soon.
After the Hop Grower Stories segement our regular Five Minutes with Faram begins. This month featuring Hugo from Renegade Brewery in the UK. Faram’s Jon gets Hugo’s take on his brewing methods, what he would like drinkers to know about beer, what makes a good brewer, and some of the most memorable experiences he’s had in the brewery.
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Check out the detailed summary below
Faces Behind the Flavour – let’s hear these hop grower stories
Episode 3 of Spreading Hoppiness takes listeners to growing regions of North America and New Zealand to hear the latest hop updates from the yards. Recorded at the Craft Brewers Conference (Philadelphia), this episode chats to four amazing hop growers, exploring their families heritage, emerging hop varieties, and how growers are continuing to push flavour boundaries through innovative hop development.
A Long-Standing Partnership with Puterbaugh Farms
Paul Corbett begins by speaking with Stacy Puterbaugh of Puterbaugh Farms in Washington State, a farming family that has worked alongside Charles Faram for nearly three decades. Stacy explains how the farm began growing hops in the 1930s with just Cluster and Cascade before expanding to nineteen different varieties to meet demands of the latest brewing trends.
A major focus of the conversation is Karma™, a newer hop variety developed in partnership with Charles Faram. Brewers loving this new variety, commenting how well it works in lagers and pale ales, with brewers experiencing flavours of blackcurrant and pine. The discussion also highlights the deep family connection between the two businesses, with Paul reminiscing about visiting the farm over twenty-five years ago when Stacy’s children were still young. Today, the next generation is already involved with farming and family life, underlining the long-term relationships that underpin the hop industry.
Climate Challenges Facing US Hop Growers
Beyond new varieties, Stacy discusses the increasing unpredictability of weather in Washington State. Despite reservoirs currently being full, concerns remain over insufficient snowpack and future water shortages. Rainfall itself has become unusual enough to feel noteworthy in a region that typically receives only around seven inches annually.
The conversation reflects wider concerns across global agriculture, with growers balancing excitement around new varieties against the realities of climate volatility, water management, and crop establishment.
Segal Ranches
Paul next speaks with John Segal of Segal Ranches, an eighty-five-year-old family hop farm in Yakima Valley. John shares the farm’s significant place in American craft brewing history, explaining how his father was the first to commercially cultivate Cascade hops in 1972.
Alongside classic varieties such as Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, and Northern Brewer, Segal Ranches are now heavily focused on experimental flavour-forward hops. The conversation explores several standout varieties including:
- Tangier – delivering bright orange and tangerine character
- Anchovy – known for unusual watermelon notes
- Zumo – offering lime zest aromatics
- Ramosa – bringing intense pineapple and lychee flavours
John explains how modern hop breeding is now moving beyond generic “tropical” descriptors toward highly specific flavour expressions that translate clearly from hop rub to finished beer. Acreage for several of these varieties is rapidly expanding as brewers search for distinctive flavour profiles in an increasingly competitive market.
New Zealand Harvest Conditions and Emerging Varieties
The episode then shifts to New Zealand with Brent McGlashen discussing the recent harvest season. The year began with severe flooding and unusually high rainfall, which likely stripped nutrients from the soil before the growing season even began. Despite this, favourable weather during harvest allowed for excellent picking conditions and strong cone quality.
Brent highlights standout varieties including:
- Riwaka®
- Nectaron®
- NZH-106
- NZH-109
NZH-109 in particular is described as one of the most intensely aromatic hops currently under development, while NZH-106, a daughter of Riwaka®, is gaining attention for offering similar appeal with fewer agronomic difficulties. Brent also explains the structured progression from breeding programme to commercial release, involving research institutions, grower trials, brewing trials, and eventual global licensing.
The discussion further touches on how New Zealand hop branding has evolved, with visually distinctive packaging and colourful identities becoming an increasingly important part of modern hop marketing.
West Coast Hop Breeding and the Launch of Celeste™
Paul also catches up with Eric Sannerud from West Coast Hop Breeding to discuss Celeste™, a newly named Oregon-bred variety previously known simply as “102”. Developed specifically for Oregon’s growing conditions, Celeste combines disease resistance and lower-input farming with strong commercial brewing performance.
Eric explains that the variety demonstrates unusually accurate flavour transfer from hop rub to finished beer, with descriptors including:
- Honeydew melon
- Passionfruit
- Lime
- Pear
- Bright citrus
The wider West Coast Hop Breeding programme itself is built around a grower-led philosophy, ensuring new varieties are not only flavourful but also robust and economically viable for farmers.
Key images from the hop grower stories podcast
“Sierra Nevada Pale Ale was my go to when I first went to the States. It's a sort of a explosion moment in your head when you benchmark beer.”
