Fresh Hop Simcoe Bitter
Machine House Brewery

16-ounce can purchased at John's Marketplace in Beaverton, OR. No date stamp. Enjoyed in a nonic half-pint glass.

Look:
The body is an attractive deep orange-amber color, and as cloudy as your average hefeweizen. Up top is a fluffy head of cream-colored foam that slowly ebbs to a sudsy, uneven collar and leaves ample lacing.

Smell:
The nose is lightly toasted malt (quite dry), a drop of caramel, and a delicate but persistent orange peel character with floral and grassy undertones. There's also a mild whiff of sulfur that is rather pleasant in context.

Taste:
Flavor starts with toasty, biscuity malt that is just a bit sweeter than the malt component in the nose. The malt is quickly overtaken by exquisite fresh Simcoe flavor, bright and citrusy. It gives way to a more earthy bitterness in the middle, with a spicy note of pine and flowers lingering on the breath. Flavors of toasty malt and bitter orange marmalade harmonize with a light grassy character in the long, drying finish.

Feel:
The body is light and fluffy, and the carbonation has a good bite to it. Mild hop burn. A gentle astringency dries the mouth out and leaves me craving the next sip.

Overall:
This is an excellent best bitter, augmented with a heavy-handed application of fresh Simcoe hops. Not much to look at, but a pleasure to drink.

Pours dark orange hues straw color; mostly clear, not ever devoid of head but nothing crazy.

Nose was an instant “whoa,” hops really jump out at first, slowly subsiding over time, overripe orange citrus, light vegetal quality peeping out here and there; little toasted biscuity malt sweetness hides underneath.

Taste is a well balanced but hoppy and bitter; the hops don’t overpower it like the nose suggests they might but they’re still dominant; it’s earthy, grassy, apricot, toasty moist bread; some light crustiness.

Mouthfeel is light but far from watery; really nice soft mouthfeel, lower carbonation and so creamy; nice sticky bitterness on the finish courtesy of the fresh hops.

 

 

First I had to get clear on what this is. Oh, not an IPA. Oh, ABV is Utah supermarket strength. Then finally, a throat bulging gulp and I'm standing at at weathered wooden bar somewhere in the North Country. It's easy to imagine a long-ago time with the fresh hops added to the boil and the casks rolled up in wagons for the thirsty Morris dancers at the pub by the green.

A bit of haze on the yellow brew with long-lasting foam in the IPA glass. Thin and bitter as appropriate for the style. Herbal taste prominent with a dry finish. Too bitter for a proper English version, but with Yakima so close...

Lush carbonation that I like with the overdose of hops, but is also non-Olde English. Clean and hoppy with hardly a trace of malt. Very bitter aftertaste after some sipping. From the 500 ml bottle with plenty of atmospherics. Purchased at Central Market (now called Town & Country for some reason).

Pours a hazy, medium coppery amber with a quarter finger white head that dissipates to patches with moderate lacing. Aroma of biscuit malt, grassy and lightly citrus hops, hay and grain. Flavor is biscuit malt with a little graininess, grassy, pine and citrus hops, hay, pine needles, grapefruit and lemon. Grassy and piney finish with surprising bitterness. Medium bodied with light creaminess. Delivers what it promises: a traditional leaning bitter malt and grassy hop base with a serious amount of fresh Simcoe hops. I enjoy a bitter now and again, but I'm a fan of big alpha bitterness in my ales too and this gives me both. Nice lemon and pine from the fresh hops and good herbal quality. Looks like a traditional ESB too. I think this level of hop bitterness was what I expected when I first encountered this style; the traditional English bitter is rather mellow. An interesting presentation that I will get again. Fresh hop season is so satisfying.

2021-09-22
500ml bottle served in a stemless wineglass. If dated, I haven't found it. Bought it at Chuck's Hop Shop last week.

Pours a clear light brown / nutty amber, smallish head, not much carbonation. Smell is mild, herbaceous, almost minty.

Taste is almost a hop tea with a little bit of grain as sweetener. Quite bitter, moderately resinous, lots of citrus pith.

Mouthfeel is fairly dry, somewhat still. Overall...I can definitely say I like it, I definitely can't say I love it, but it's definitely interesting.

look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

---
2024-10-02
16oz can served in a big snifter. Don't see a date. Bought it at Chuck's Hop Shop about a week ago. Since the last time I reviewed this, I've tried more Machine House and a lot more traditional styles, and I like this quite a bit. I think my description is still fairly accurate (though the beer I'm looking at looks lighter than the color I described three years ago, and I would add in a distinct cask 'oxidation' flavor). I'm bumping up the scores. I don't think it's a fabulous showcase of fresh hops, but I do think it's a fantastic bitter.

this is radical! the kind of old world meets new fusion that i love when done as well as this. its a light pale bitter base to start, clean, low alcohol, and even with an almost cask feel from the bottle which is awesome, but then its hopped with wet simcoe hops, bold enough to stand out, but restrained enough to still let this be a pretty authentic tasting bitter overall, a delicate balance but they got it right, and im glad we picked this bottle up, its a unique beer for wet hops, and the result is exceptional. the beer is mostly clear, very bright, and pale yellow or soft gold in color, a short head from the tap and with very mild carbonation but sort of a bottle conditioned texture, not flat or anything, just mellow. the hops give a little pop of fresh pine to the aroma, a little more of a citrus thing to the taste, and bring some crisping bitterness late along with whatever hops were in the boil. i can definitely appreciate some english yeast character here, but its pretty relaxed, and dries this out a lot without the bready weight it often brings, this almost has a lagered feel to it at the end, very well refined. the malt is simple and traditional too, and what stands out is how fresh it is, nice to have that element with the fresh hops as well, this whole thing is subtle in every way, but rather unique when taken as a whole, i think its tastefully and professionally done, and accomplishes something quite difficult overall. neat use of wet hops in a style that doesnt seem to really make sense with them, until this beer, and on the whole this makes me pretty excited about machine house, who i need to visit next time i am in the area! i love english beers, but its cool to have a more modernized one too, this was a great nightcap after some much heavier brews, highly recommended!

Poured from 500mL bottle into a dimpled mug. No bottling date, but it's this year's batch picked up at the brewery.

Appearance: medium golden-orange hue with a bit of murk and a thin layer of ivory foam atop. It's not dramatic, but it looks good.

Smell: an earthy, somewhat dank aroma with a sweetish malt base and a fairly prominent yeast character. These are bottle conditioned, so that last bit is not too surprising. Not bad.

Taste: fresh, grassy, green, earthy hop character; bitterness is quite strong, especially considering the low ABV, but it's still appropriately balanced for the style. It's definitely brisk and bracing, as it should be.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a minimal carbonation. These beers are more or less intended to be served on cask, and their bottled versions reflect that. That said, a little more carbonation wouldn't have hurt.

Overall: this is just a massively drinkable beer. While quite bitter, its low ABV and classic balance make this an extremely easy quaffer. I absolutely dig it.