Fresh Cut Fresh Hopped Hazy IPA
Fortside Brewing

Canned on 9/8/25; consumed on 10/21/25

Pours a foggy, sunflower-gold haze topped with two fingers of fluffy, off-white foam; solid head retention leaves a slim layer of cap, modest collar, and ample array of chunky, webby lacing strewn around the walls of the glass.

Aroma opens with red berry inflections into deftly foundational grassiness, leaving notes of red grapefruit settling to a dank white grape lingering through the background of the bouquet.

Taste offers musty lemon sporting grassy, floral undertones throughout; red berries continue to accent the profile, offering a semi-sweet contrast to twangier grapefruit peel lingering into the back end.

Mouthfeel features a medium body along with a rounded fluff of creamy, moderate-full carbonation; glossy textures yield a slick, tautly flaky back end and somewhat juicy yet entirely crisp finish.

Red berry dank and an inherently piney, floral undercurrent marks a welcomingly novel approach to this annual style, showcasing a fluid depth while maintaining steady drinkability.

Poured from a 16 ounce can dated 8-28-23 into a teku glass.

Look- Deep gold, moderately hazy, slightly off white creamy head, no visible particulate, average head retention, above average lacing.

Smell- Clementine, pine resin, grapefruit, slightly dank, between weak and medium strength of scent.

Taste- Clementine, grapefruit, pineapple, very slight pine, medium strength of flavor.

Feel- Medium body, mildly prickly, mildly bitter, average carbonation, mildly creamy, mildly mouth watering finish.

Overall- Appearance was deep gold with moderate haze with average head retention. Bouquet was weaker than desired with clementine, grapefruit and pine, but not much dank character that I would expect from a fresh hop. Flavor was clementine and grapefruit mainly with some pineapple and even less pine. Feel was medium body, but again didn’t have much of the prickliness I expect from my fresh hop offerings. Overall this beer provided a slightly below average experience. The flavors and nose were pleasant, but the fresh hop character was too understated.

never had a beer from these guys before this one, cool to have my introduction to their stuff be a wet hop beer! its flavorful, light for its strength, hazy but not heavy, and dripping with fresh hop goodness from start to finish. a bunch of different hops in here, but the wet ones are hallertau, which i am not sure i have seen before, neat not only in a wet hop context, but also in an imperial ipa context, they just dont end up in these types of beers all that often, frankly i didnt even know we were growing much of it here in the states. it doesnt present itself like a noble hop to me, more citrus forward, could be some of the other hops in the kettle, but it sort of seems like candied orange, melon rind, and herbs like time and marjoram, curious, but neither grassy nor bitter in aroma or flavor, at least to me. lemongrass, lemon curd as it warms, some pine too but less intense than many, and a long resinous finish despite this being dry and relatively light on the grain side for what it is. the fermentation is pretty clean, not perfect, but minimal, and the ends up being cohesive, vibrant, different, and great. i love seeing an old classic hop like this rise to new stardom with new usage, and this absolutely works both in ipa as a lead dog, and as a wet hop. clever and thoughtful and nicely executed. i will be on the hunt for more fortside beers when i am in the area next! this was a head turner.

 

Full disclosure, I'm not a big fan of hazies, but I gave this one a try because of the fresh hops.

Appearance: cloudy yellow, with a fluffy white head that disappears fairly soon. The smell is frooty. The taste is like a creamsicle, fruit and a bit sweet. There's a little bitterness in the finish.

I don't get much in the way of fresh hops, at least not compared to other fresh hop beers I've been drinking.

So, for me, it's a disappointment, but then if you are a fan of hazies, especially the fruity ones, you shouldn't be listening to me.

2021-09-10
16oz can served in a stemless angular wineglass. Stamped "HOPPED STRONG 08/31/21". Bought it at Bottleworks today.

Pours a hazy pale whitish-yellow. Small white head. Smell is fairly mild, citrus zest / lemony, a little creaminess. A little patience reveals a bit of pine resin. Maybe a bit of booze.

Taste is leaning toward boozy, lots of lemon, not much resin.

Mouthfeel is thick and creamy. Almost fluffy. Overall, it's pretty good.

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2022-10-01
Canned 09/12/22. I think I get a lot more tropical fruit this year. Both in the nose and in the flavor. Might give it slightly higher scores than I did last year, but not a transformation.

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2024-09-22
Canned 09/09/24. Bought it at Beer Authority yesterday. Lacking in bitterness, sweet and juicy and tropical ftw, but it's quite tasty. Again, might bump up the scores from previous year's bump up of scores.