Haze Harvester
Bale Breaker Brewing Company

Fresh hop haze harvester

From a can about a month out. Pours only slightly hazy, with a wonderful creamy cap. The aroma is still so lively that I can smell it at arms length. The nose is full of those fresh hop aromatics, and they’re present on the sip as well, while remaining remarkably balanced and in check. I get why this one came so highly recommended.

 

Taster at Fresh Hop Festival. Golden pour, Hazy, ample white head. Light hoppy aroma, grassy. Hoppiness picks up in the taste, snappy, grassy, grainy.

a really nice fresh hop hazy ipa here, one of the ones they packaged. this is one of the breweries who always delivers, especially with hoppy beers, and given their location literally in the hop fields, it makes sense their fresh hop game is as good as any, and although this wasnt the standout of them from our visit here (which was epic), its a mighty fine offering and one to seek out. this drinks lighter than most, not a ton of body to this, just enough pale grain character, like its perfectly built to support the hops, but stay dry, soft overall, the mouthfeel is pretty wonderful on this, just such a smart beer top to bottom. i like that this isnt crazy hazy and thick, a lovely head both from the faucet at the source and from the pint cans i picked up there. this is made with citra, simcoe, and hbc 1018, at least some of which they grew on their grounds, simcoe might be the only fresh hop in this, it wasnt clear, but this is vibrant and distinctive, the experimental varietal sure adds a lot, and its cool how the aroma and the flavor are the same, white grapefruit, honeysuckle, watermelon rind, white coconut flesh, lemongrass, and orange popsicle, fresh as can possibly be, with some weedy dankness and oily slickness, good saturation and intensity, but this isnt green and its not harsh, bitterness is low for a beer this hoppy overall, and the quality here is just absurd. some light middle sweetness but cleaner later, orange tic tacs, pineapple, green tea. this is what these guys do best and this is an absolute delight, tastes like fall and carries all kinds of good vibes!

16oz can purchased at Huckleberry's, in Spokane, WA, for $3.99. According to the stamp on the bottom of the can, this was packaged on September 5, 2024, making it the oldest FH beer in my fridge, so it's got to go.

Poured into a pseudo-IPA glass, this was a cloudy, yellowish amber, with a massive, pillowy and sudsy bone-white head. Lots of lace.

Lemony citrus leaning hop aroma.

Lemony citrus up front...and then that's just kind of it. Okay, there's a mild, piney bitterness way on the background on the back half, with a very soft dryness at the swallow, but it's a pretty tame FH beer.

Medium bodied, with a soft mouth feel.

Pretty meh as FH beers go. Thoroughly mediocre stuff. Won't need to try it again this year.

 

Canned Sept 6th. Hazy, unfiltered pour, nose is a generic light floral. First taste is a definite fresh hop taste, with a dry background and a regrettably short finish. Seems to be missing something in the mix that provides a way to pull everything together. ABV is 6.5%. We like BB as a solid producer, but they missed the bulls-eye on this one.