Fresh Hop Juice Jr.
Great Notion Brewing

 

 

On tap at Great Notion Alberta

A: Pours hazy golden yellow amber with a frothy off white head that settles to a light layer and leaves a little nice lacing.

S: Big time ripe tropical and stone fruit, bright citrus, resinous pine, green grassy notes, crackery biscuity malt, and a touch of caramel sweetness.

T: Bright zesty citrus, grapefruit, tangerine, and lemon, green grassy resinous pine, tropical and stone fruit, mango, blueberry, peach, apricot, guava, and a hint of papaya, floral notes, crackery biscuity malt, and a little caramel sweetness.

M: Medium body, slightly prickly carbonation.

O: I feel like this version is even brighter and crisper than the original. The wet hops bring a really cool extra dimension. Really glad to get a chance to try this one.

2024 version with Mosaic.
Smells great and really changes as it warms a bit. I really dig that spice note.
How could this be anything but stellar?

JR is an excellent NEIPA, so its tough for me to tell if this fresh hop variant is better than the original or not. Overall, this hazy golden brew is typical GN hop bomb; juicy, floral, grassy, zippy, zesty, dank. Loved it.

16oz tallboy can purchased at Huckleberry's, in Spokane, WA, for $6.19, making it the most expensive packaged FH beer I've taken home yet. According to the stamp on the rim of the can (seems a GN trademark), this was canned on September 11, 2023.

Poured into a teku, this was a murky, almost opaque yellow color, with a decent sized white head. Lots of lace.

The fresh mosaics give things a tropical and subtly berry-ish aroma.

I think the berryish aspect sometimes noted in mosaic hops takes the lead over the tropical notes here. I also get notes of pineapple, but they're fairly mellow in comparison to the almost blueberry like flavors that are up front. Mildly dry at the swallow.

Medium bodied, with a slightly creamy mouth feel. I would say it's not quite as soft in the body and especially at the finish as a true New England hazy, but it's in that ballpark.

It's not ringing my bell and quite the same way as this year's Frenz or Fremont's 2023 HFOFH, but it's still quite an enjoyable beer to drink. This might actually be the first fresh hop beer I've ever had from Great Notion.

 

2023-10-01
16oz can served in a snulip. Can is dated 09/11/2023. Bought it at Chuck's Hop Shop yesterday.

Pours murky pale whitish-amber with about a finger of head that settles quickly. Smell is bright citrus zest and pith, dankness, and resin.

Taste is right there with it, leans a bit toward lemon and a lot toward resin, stays very bright.

Mouthfeel is medium, slight grittiness, drying texture. Overall, very tasty beer.

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2025-10-31
16oz can. Dated 09.15.25. Not as bright. Not bad, not as good as my previous notes sound.

Poured from a 16 ounce can stamped mighty mosaic 9-11-23 into a teku glass.

Look- Pale gold, very hazy, no visible particulate, white frothy head, average head retention, above average lacing.

Smell- Very dank, grapefruit, pine resin, between medium and high strength of scent.

Taste- Grapefruit, clementine, pine resin, herbaceous, high strength of flavor.

Feel- Medium body, average carbonation, highly bitter, highly prickly, moderately creamy, moderately dry finish.

Overall- Pale gold with high haziness and average head retention and above average lacing. Bouquet was very dank with notes of grapefruit, clementine and pine resin. Flavor was grapefruit, clementine, pine resin and herbaceous with high strength of flavor. Feel was medium body with high bitterness and prickliness with a moderate creaminess. This beer provided a wonderful drinking experience and is a great example of a fresh hop beer. It showcased very vibrant, well balanced flavors with all of the dankness and prickliness I expect in a fresh hop beer.

Likely a Strata version, good but also a bit of a yawner. I'd love to try a Mosaic version.

 

 

 

Opaque apricot with a thick head that settles to a sandy film leaving mountaintop lacing.

Smell is cannabis and dank resinous pine, yet also orange dreamsicle. I thought Wetwired, the fresh hop Cloudburst collab I had at Holy Mountain, was surprisingly dank for a fresh hop ale, but Fresh Hop Juice Jr. outdoes that.

Taste is orange, lemon cream and cannabis with a slight bite of pine sap. This is certainly the most cannabic fresh hop ale I've ever had.

The feel starts thin but fills to medium bodied with a perfectly crisp yet soft froth and a barely semi-dry finish.