Hop Harvest
Blackfoot River Brewing Company

 

fresh hop ipa, i believe the hops change on this year to year, and this year its elani, a newer varietal yet to really take off commercially, like you dont see a ton of elani beers around yet, despite its uniqueness, so this is cool to experience these hops in a fresh hop context, maybe the first of these ive had with elani, neat! its a lovely beer, well supported by other hops but with herbal elani driving it, interesting characteristics to this hop, the freshness is obvious, and each sip is a little different, or i taste something a little different, very dynamic. unfiltered looking, a little orange tint to this showing just a bit of apparent malt depth, fluffy white head from the tap. nose of white and yellow florals, green tea, hay, and chamomile, herbal more than fruity to me from this hop, but some lemon and orange there, white wine grape, green papaya, it really opens up, some oils here, a slightly richer grain base but it balances not interferes with the hops, mid level bitterness it seems. the flavor follows the nose, herbal and verdant up front, meyer lemon, citrus pith, honeydew melon, lemon verbena, and some nutty malt woven in, very neat hop layering to this, with the fresh hops standing out but also the other varietals adding a lot, very white wine and even kind of apricot-like later on, light toast, very subtle ale yeast character too, does not seem out of place with the other flavors, quickening finish, okay carbonation, pleasant hoppy aftertaste with some orange to it, very nice. a cool showcase of elani in a fresh hop context, one of the more unique fresh hop beers i had this season, well composed.