Field to Ferment: Centennial + Sabro
Fremont Brewing Company

Nice hop flavor, slightly bitter, but refreshing. Pours a medium head with a golden color. Standard for a pale ale. Good pale ale. Doesn't really taste like a fresh hop beer. Rated 10-17-2020
50 IBUs

Taster at Growler Guys. Pale, clear golden, small tight head. Grassy, grainy aroma. Hops take over in the taste, crisp, bitter. Seemingly light, but quite a hops kick.

 

Should have pulled one of these last month, but here we go six weeks after packaging. Beer looks somewhat unfiltered with a brassy hue to it in the glass. Nose is stone fruit, something herbal or clover like, maybe a bit of orange tucked back in there, too. Feel is medium, which lines up with the 6% abv and the wheat addition to the malt bill. Touch of breadiness but still on the crisp side. Think i favored last year's citra edition more, but this combo of hops lends more complexity than the amarillo from the prior iteration; the 16 oz cans also cost 50% more than the 12 oz despite providing only 25% more beer.

This one pours a light and mostly clear orange color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells like fresh cut grass, cedar, coconut, orange, peach, and grapefruit.

Sabro is a fascinating new hop, and I feel like I like in nearly everything I've tried. That candied coconut is there, and it's very tasty. I get some cedar spiciness, along with fresh cut grass and dank pine. There's also grapefruit, orange, and peach here, too.

This is light bodied, and very clean, with a fantastic drinkability to it.

I don't like Fremont's regular "rest of the year" hoppy portfolio that much - but they seemt o absolutely nail it during the fresh hop window.

The aroma is the best feature, a mix of citrus, dirt, and pine needles. I'm not sure this particular hop combination is a winner. The total effect is raw, highly herbal, with intense flavors fighting it out with the bitter burn. Strong coconut, always hard to play with. The aromatics are followed by an eye-watering acidity.

Overall this is one of my least favorite of the Fremont hoppy beers, so often a delight. This one is just a harsh mistress who leaves you bitter. It really is one of the bitterest beers from a reputable brewer, in line with the you-are-not-worthiness of Arrogant Bastard. From the 16 oz can packaged 9-18-20.

 

 

Poured from a 16 ounce can into a tulip glass.

Look- Deep gold, hazy, small particulate sediment, average head retention, above average lacing.

Smell- Herbal, grassy, peach, coconut, resin.

Taste- Resin, herbal, toasted coconut, slightly peach at finish.

Feel- Between thin and medium body, medium bitterness, lingering astringent finish, average carbonation.

Overall- Good fresh hop pale.

 

 

Can from ABV. 2020 edition.

Pouring crystal clear with a dense, white head with good retention and lacing, this looks great. The nose opens up with a nice fresh hop character, a little soft given that this is 3 weeks old already. There's delicate, fleshy coconut, a mild peach and kiwi/melon note. No malt character. The palate opens mildly bitter with a clean, mildly oily bitterness along with a nice fresh hop character. Flavors of coconut, mandarin orange, peach and a little honey are present. Drying, bitter on the finish with some lingering fresh hop flavor, this beer is light in body and moderately carbonated. Well integrated.

 

delicious, as expected, but a somewhat different take than i anticipated, more of a west coast ipa here, clearish, radiant, and bitter, less of the big dry hoppy sabro profile i was expecting, more of a familiar centennial pine bite, incredibly fresh, and obviously wet hops in here, but more of a conventional ipa type here, even with that being true. cool cans, high headed lacy looking golden brew, bubbly and brilliant in the glass. aroma and flavor of fresh spruce, grapefruit, tangerine, and not quite ripe strawberry interestingly enough, some coconut. the flavor follows this with an oily richness of feel and a long linger despite it being dry and clean. a little bit of a generic citrus thing, pretty high alpha for this sort of thing, some fruity cannabis too, very good, just not as radical as i thought it might be with the sabro, which has been quite distinctive in other wet hops beers ive tried so far this fall. maybe not equal in dosage to the centennial here, that would be my guess. i think the first sip is the most dramatic in terms of sabro standing out, but it all settles in pretty fast. by any measure this is delicious ipa, which is what i would call this, bitter enough to not so much be a pale, especially with a minimal malt profile, even though they call it one. another one in this series and from fremont more generally. there is no better time of year to be a beer drinker than wet hop season!

 

This is pretty great. Bubblegum on teh aroma, fresh hops. Flavor is a little bit of that bubble gum, hops, delicious. Probably my favorite field to ferment yet.

 

16oz canned on 9/16 and sampled one week later; poured into a nonic; pours a mostly-clear straw/gold with some chill/hop-haze and a smaller, fluffy off-white head; the hop profile is unique, I get traditional Centennial notes of pine and citrus/tropical fruit, mixed with pale malts, but the Sabro is strong is strong as well with impressions of coconut, mint, and cedar chips. Piney, herbal, and a little oily, this is a well-executed fresh-hop ale even though the hop profile is not my favorite.

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a medium golden amber with a fine, two finger white head with great retention and nice lacing. Aroma of pale malt, citrus and mild tropical fruit hops, grapefruit, mild tropical fruit and pine. Flavor is pale malt fresh citrus and vaguely tropical fruit hops, grapefruit, a little dankness and mixed tropical the stone fruit with some lingering light pine. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. A bit of a laid back fresh hop this year. Both Centennial and Sabro are kind of mixed flavor hops and that shows in this years FtoF. Unlike last year, which approached the flavor density of an IPA for me, this one is a solid pale ale in malt and hops. The hops taste fresh with a little less in-you-face herbal flavors. Calm and mellow. Glad to be back in a little cooler weather with the fresh hop tradition rolling.

16oz can (not an improvement over the 12ozers. BRING BACK 12s!!!!. Dated 9/17/20) Poured into 14oz teku. Poured a lightly hazy honey gold color with 3/4 inch of white head that good retention and light lacing.

The expected hop forward aroma had just a light malt background.

Similar on the tongue, with the Centennial seeming to be a bit dominant.

The body was maybe a touch on the light side of medium, clean, and had a dry finish.

Drinkability was good, as expected.

Overall, another very nice Fresh Hop brew from Fremont. grab one while you can.