First Choice Hops

First Choice stands as a historic mid-century pioneer of Southern Hemisphere hop cultivation, masterfully selected in the 1960s by the legendary Dr. R.H.J. Roborgh at the Riwaka Research Station near Nelson, New Zealand. Born from an open-pollinated cross of Cluster, this robust variety was highly valued by regional growers for its exceptional vegetative vigor and reliable field yields, sustaining a commercial run for over twenty years before the global industry shifted focus toward high-alpha modern hybrids. While it is no longer grown in large-scale commercial hop yards, its genetic importance was preserved in the 1980s when a specialized tetraploid version was logged into the USDA World Hop Cultivar Collection under the code 66055. Today, First Choice is deeply respected as a vital genetic milestone, most notably serving as the direct open-pollinated maternal parent that gave the brewing world the high-impact variety Sticklebract.

The profile of First Choice is a fascinating, time-capsule departure from the intensely sweet and tropical fruit characters that define modern New Zealand hops, delivering instead a rugged, pungent, and unapologetically old-school sensory performance. Driven by an intense concentration of myrcene oils, it bursts open with an aggressive wave of fresh pine resin, coarse field grass, and dried grapefruit rind. This sharp citrus-and-pine framework quickly drops back into a heavy, complex mid-palate defined by crushed black pepper, warm cedar wood, and dry garden herbs. Because its essential oil balance heavily favors raw, zesty top-notes over soft humulene compounds, its overall aromatic delivery is forward, rustic, and distinctively crisp, making it an incredible historical tool for adding a classic, no-nonsense West Coast or vintage Commonwealth profile to deep, malt-forward beer styles.