Pelican Brewing’s latest year-round beer is available now, Paddleback Oceanic Pale Ale, which features Australian and New Zealand hops (collectively making up the “Oceanic” part of the name). The brewery sent me a six-pack of the cans to sample at the end of last week.

The press release tagline mentions “rare New Zealand hops,” and the website lists Magnum, Nelson Sauvin, and Galaxy hops—since Nelson Sauvin are from NZ, I’m assuming those are the rare ones, though I don’t have a handle on how rare they might be. I’ve been seeing this variety used for years (Hopworks’ Juicy Bear IPA is brewed with it) and I’m not current on availability news. If you want to know more about Nelson Sauvin, Stan Hieronymus profiled it in his latest Hop Queries newsletter.

Here’s the full press release:

Pelican Brewing Company Makes Waves with the Release of Paddleback Oceanic Pale Ale.

The thrill of the paddle is never far with Pelican’s newest year-round pale ale in hand featuring rare New Zealand hops and a lively, refreshing finish.

Pelican Brewing Company celebrates the return of warmer weather with Paddleback Oceanic Pale Ale. This liquid sunshine delivers bright, zesty aromas reminiscent of gooseberries and white peach from hand-selected hops sourced from Down Under. Take your surf stoke to the next level with this clean, light-bodied, and lively, refreshing pale ale – available now in 12 oz. six-packs, select Pelican Mixed 12-packs, and on draft at Pelican’s three coastal brewpubs and local watering holes.

Don’t be misled by Paddleback’s modest ABV. This pale ale still packs a hoppy punch and aroma by blending Galaxy hops from Australia, and Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand. Pelican carefully selected these two hop styles to create a complex but balanced hop character with flavors of sauvignon blanc grapes for a bright and refreshing pale ale ideal for post-surf stories, kayak adventures, or warm weather patio sipping.

“The pale ale category continues to grow as consumer’s look for IPA alternatives with lower ABVs and easier drinking styles,” says Darron Welch, Pelican brewmaster of 25 years. “We wanted to create a new recognizable pale ale that delivers on hop flavor and aroma, but balanced and refreshing with a supportive malt character. That’s why we chose to incorporate hops from New Zealand and Australia into Paddleback as they present bright flavors such as gooseberry and passionfruit versus the citrus hops used in classic American style pale ales.”

ABV: 5.7% | IBU: 40 | PLATO: 13º

Like all Pelican beers, Paddleback is born at the beach by a team of award-winning craft beer makers known for brewing styles of beer that they themselves love to drink. Cheers!

I’ll be drinking and reviewing soon.