Rock, Paper, Chinook
Fort George Brewery + Public House

Drooooool…. This, my friends, is everything I’ve been looking for in a fresh hop beer. Big nose, with each sip bursting with flavor. Touch of malt on the finish. Why didn’t I get a 4-pack of this earlier?

fantastic wet hop beer late in a season where i did not drink nearly enough of these, seems like less than ever came around boise, a shame, so this hit extra hard for me, these guys always kill the hoppy stuff, but this is next level, a fresh and clean pale ale, but boldly hoppy anyway, unassuming with just chinook, but this is a hop that i think never got enough credit for what it can do beyond bittering functions, and a lot of beer drinkers dont know it in a dry hop context, or as a fresh hop ingredient yet, despite it being around forever, so this beer kind of serves an educational role too. clear and shiny in the glass, nearly two inches of fluffy white head, a little color to it, brassy, but not malty looking. the nose and taste brim with pink grapefruit, green tea, and even papaya juiciness, the fresness is evident, and as robust as it is, its not bitter nor is it green, there is an oily slickness to it, some herbal intensity, but its never oversaturated or anything, and there is a cleanness to the whole thing thats from more than just the tidy ferment. i like the malt balance it has, just a pinch of something richer, honey malt, munich perhaps, just something more than pale barley, but still well short of a big crystal heft. its dry overall but has a fairly long flavor journey, the hops pop with clean citrus, delicate floral aspects, and honeydew melon at temperature, and it has great balance, definitely a pale. really enjoyed this one, the less is more approach proves worthwhile here. well done!

2022-10-02
16oz can served in a big snifter. Dated 09/13/22. Bought it at Ridgewood.

Pours a clear golden-amber with a fairly small head and a ton of active carbonation. Smell is vaguely fruit-cuppy, a little floral.

Taste is toward melon, stronger floral, fruit-cuppiness is still there, maybe a hint of bubble gum.

Mouthfeel is light, almost thin. Overall, this is a pretty good beer.

Look: Light golden yellow in color with a fast-forming, silky head that holds at two fingers before slowly settling and revealing webs of lacing left behind
Aroma: Lemon and lime zest, freshly mowed lawn, citrusy fir needles, a little honeydew melon, light berry notes, and bready malt
Taste: Starts off with a punch of juicy melon that is immediately followed by sharp citrus juice, flesh, and rind, along with a slew of grassiness. Berry and fir-led conifer notes trickle in as it develops and closes with an “I’m chewing on fresh hop cones” finish
Mouthfeel: Full, lightly slick, feels highly carbonated – somewhat prickly even, and felt dryness on the finish
Overall: This is awesome stuff. I missed these folks’ iteration last year so glad to have found it and I’m quickly gaining appreciation for Chinook hops as I’ve had plenty of fresh hop beers this year that use them and liked them all. More grass and conifer notes in this than I expected but that are quite welcome and outside of the carbonation, which I’d prefer dialed back a bit, this is hard to knock. Recommended

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a medium golden amber with a one finger white head with great retention and nice lacing. Aroma of pale malt, citrus and piney hops, grapefruit, lemon and pine; a little dankness. Flavor is pale malt with some biscuit, crackers, grapefruit, pine needles and yuzu. Piney, citrus rind finish with fine bitterness. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. An excellent fresh hop ale with a malt body and hop flavor approaching an IPA. I like the light touch of biscuit malt in the base, which adds a bit more interest to me than dry pale malt. It's a single hop ale, so not much complexity, but displays the Chinook character well with solid pine and some grapefruit and lemon rind. It's clear why this hop shows up so often in West Coast IPAs and actually holds up better than most as a single hop, although I may be biased towards piney hops. I'm finding that my favorite fresh hop of the season tends to be the one I'm currently drinking and right now, it's this one. Nicely done and particularly flavorful for its modest ABV.

 

Canned 13 Sept, side by side with the Ferment FH Chinook.

A clear orange with a dense, white head with excellent retention and lacing. This has so much more FH character than the Ferment beer, bright, pungent, diesel and grapefruit rind. The cleaner/lighter malt bill also allows the focus to be on the hops. Bitter, oily, mildly resiny. The palate opens with a nice fresh hop character, clean, deep and fruity with pine and grapefruit resin. Faint dank notes of diesel appear too. Clean, drying, snappy on the finish. Excellent.