Fresh Hop Fiend: Idaho 7
Stoup Brewing Brewery & Taproom

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a slightly hazy, medium golden amber with a three finger white head with great retention and solid lacing. Aroma of pale and lightly caramel malt, citrus and lightly tropical fruit hops, orange, pineapple, mixed fruit punch; tropical flowers; a little dankness. Flavor is caramel malt, citrus, tropical and dank hops, lemon, grapefruit, tea, vague tropical fruit and catty dankness. Nice dank bitterness in the finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. Alas, fresh hop season is winding down; this may be my last fresh hop this year. The Idaho 7 hops are quite busy, with mixed citrus and tropical fruit flavors and hints of pine. Black and green tea notes too. Like the last one (Cashmere), I can see why this is a hop usually used in a mixture. It has a lot of interesting mixed flavor, but nothing really stands out, except the interesting tea notes. Once again, the malt body is great and supports as well as displays the hop character quite nicely. This has been a great fresh hop series I will be looking for again next year.