Eggers Special is a unique New Zealand hops from Eggers Hops, an independent family hop grower in Upper Moutere. Eggers Special is much more niche and exploratory than the huge, widely used varieties dominating modern craft beer. It is only recorded for a small number of beers on HopHorizons at the time of writing so this is still a hops the industry getting to know rather than one with a long history.
The character feels like it sits squarely in the expressive New Zealand hop world – bright, aromatic and fruit-forward, often with citrus and tropical notes at the heart. Beers brewed with Eggers Special can bring out notes of passion fruit, grapefruit, lime, tropical citrus and ripe fruit, sometimes with a slightly sharper, greener or more savoury edge. Some descriptions out there have a lot of overlap with Riwaka, which is logical given the strong association of Eggers Hops with that variety.
What is interesting about Eggers Special is that it seems to convey a more particular sense of place and choice than do many of the standard hop varieties. It doesn't feel like a wide, familiar category but more specific – a selected expression of New Zealand hops character, defined by farm, picking time and growing conditions. It gives it a little bit of a mysterious quality, especially when you compare it to more common varieties like Citra, Mosaic or Simcoe.
It's one of the more curious hops in the HopHorizons archive right now. We don't have enough logged beers to make a firm judgement as yet, but the early impression is of a bright, modern and highly aromatic hop with plenty of tropical and citrus potential.
