Smoothcone Hops

Smoothcone is a foundational pillar of the New Zealand hop industry, representing a major turning point for Southern Hemisphere breeding at the Riwaka Research Station. Developed in the 1960s as a tetraploid variety from an open-pollination of California Cluster, it was engineered to provide growers with a hardy, high-yielding cultivar. While it is no longer grown commercially, its legacy lives on as a critical breeding block for modern legends like Green Bullet^™, SuperAlpha, and Alpharoma. As the "sister" to First Choice, Smoothcone's agricultural resilience established the clean, consistent bittering standards that paved the way for the "New World" hop revolution.

The sensory profile is defined by a rugged, old-school herbal character and a firm, traditional bitterness. It leads with a primary, "mid-century" bouquet of fresh-cut hay, dried earth, and sweet resins, followed by a subtle, spicy woodiness reminiscent of its Cluster ancestry. As the profile develops, brewers will find muted floral undertones and a hint of dark fruit. Because of its steady oil composition and classic chemical structure, Smoothcone delivers a punchy, lingering bitterness that provides an excellent structural backbone for malt-forward styles, making it the definitive choice for brewers seeking a reliable and nostalgic Southern Hemisphere character.