Fresh Hop West Coast IPA (2024)
pFriem Family Brewers

 

From a can.

This pours brilliantly, solid gold with a cloudy white top. Lots of dank notes come across, with a nose that reminds me of many things hop-adjacent. The sip follows, with a green note that feels almost unfinished, but oh so welcomed. A wonderful expression of fresh hopping and what it can contribute. I loved it.

Look: Medium orange and clear with a nice-looking white head that settles to a lid and leaves good lacing behind

Aroma: Honeysuckle, gardenia, sweet rose, jasmine, freshly cut grass, lemon zest, wafts of herbal tea, gooseberry, and pilsner malt

Taste: Whoa. A huge floral bouquet launches onto the palate along with cut grass and daylily, butterfly bush, and spirea join the brigade I got on the nose, hitting individually and quickly melding. Lemon zest jumps in the mix in the middle and berry notes peek in and out until flowers return to close it out, along with a light bite

Mouthfeel: Full but on the lighter side, clean, lightly slick, medium-high carbonation, and clean and lightly dry on the finish

Overall: This is some tasty stuff. I didn’t know what to expect flavor-wise from this as I went in blind but given it’s a fresh hop from pFriem, I figured I’d like it and was right. The Centennials are on full display throughout as this is potpourri meets beer and it has a nice, light malt body to further let the fresh hop subtleties shine. Tasty and recommended

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a light to medium golden amber with a half finger white head that continued to grow slowly, with solid lacing. Aroma of pale malt, citrus and piney hops, lemon, strawberry, green melon, grapefruit and a little dankness. Flavor is pale malt, citrus and floral hops, lemon, summer herbs (rosemary?), mixed light fruit and hints of pine resin without clear pine needle character. Moderate, but satisfactory carbonation. A novel hop bill; wish I knew what it was. Not really a West Coast style in my book, but that's probably as close as anything. Aroma and taste were both inviting, but oddly different from each other. The combination of herb and mystery fruit is very compelling. A unique and and very flavorful fresh hop. One of the most interesting and tasty of this year's already fine batch. I surprise, but shouldn't be because of Pfriem's constant high quality.

2024-10-13
16oz can served in a big snifter. Hard to read, but I think it's dated 09/19/24. Bought it at Ridgewood about two weeks ago.

Pours clear bright gold with a medium sized head. Smell is dank, cat piss (not in a bad way, just don't know a better descriptor), lemon and herbal.

Taste is pine resin, earthy bitterness, moderate grain tea sweetness, resin bitter finish.

Mouthfeel is medium to light, very dry. Overall, not great, but pretty good.

Taster at festival. Clear golden pour, dissipating white foamy head. Light fruity, hoppy aroma. Taste is malty, fruity, light bitterness way at the back.

Light but inviting aroma of melon and mango. All very fruity from start to finish. This is really quite sweet for some reason. Actually candy-like taste with just a modest bitter edge. Watermelon with a bitter edge? Overall this is an unusual and perfectly drinkable beer that is quite lush, smooth, and palate-pleasing. I would just go get a couple more four packs of this and pFriem's Hazy IPA both. From the 16 oz can purchased at Bridge and Tunnel Bottleshop in Astoria. Dated 09/12/24.

16oz can purchased at Huckleberry's, in Spokane, WA, for $4.99. Canning date is smudged, but it can't be very old, given its nature.

Poured into a 16 oz can glass (there's some other official name for the glass type, but I can't remember what it is), this was a beautiful, crystal clear, golden amber, with a big, sudsy, bone-white head. Lots of lace.

Bright citrusy and piney nose. Very straightforward.

Taste was much like the nose. Bright, grape fruity hop notes up front, with pine sap notes on the back end. Surprisingly light on bitterness overall, it drinks as if it's a lighter beer than it actually is.

Surprisingly light and easy going body for a practically 7% alcohol IPA. Oily, resiny mouth feel.

For what it is, this beer is extremely easy to drink. The temptation to have several would be hard to avoid in the bar, but the ABV would argue against pursuing that course. I would definitely drink this again.