Fresh Hop Workhorse
Laurelwood Brewing Co.

 

 

On tap at the Sellwood location yesterday.

Appearance-wise, this beer looks pretty much just like the regular workhorse IPA. The beer pours a an amber orange color with pretty good head retention and decent lacing. On the nose, however, there's absolutely no doubt you're drinking a completely different beer than the regular WH. On the nose I pick up considerable watermelon, fresh baloney (I kid you not), and a light savory smoky aroma. There's also light tropical fruit and a hint of pepper as well, but the watermelon and baloney aroma really dominates. The flavor profile generally replicates the nose, though (thankfully) I don't pick up much of the baloney on the palate. There's a wonderful fresh hop brightness to the flavor profile that is just wonderful, with the sweetness in this balanced very nicely by the hoppy goodness in this beer. Mouthfeel is medium bodied I guess, with the beer delivering plenty of flavor. The finish is clean and lightly bitter, and drinkability is excellent.

Wasn't all that greatly impressed with the version I had of this at the Hood River fresh hop fest last year, but this year's uber fresh version is terrific. Absolutely delicious and a treat to enjoy at the pub.

 

 

 

 

 

fresh bomber into a snifter

dark golden color with a beautiful head and lacing. Smell packs a punch to your senses as you get a huge amount of dank , fruity hops. taste follows suits as it starts off very grapefruity with the hops majorly pronounced and then finishes with a terrific lingering bitterness. Classic fresh hop west coast ipa here and an improvement to the already great workhorse. Thanks Matthew for this awesome beer!

 

 

 

 

 

while i dont doubt that this beer is well made and delicious to some palates, i got a pronounced canned fish, sardine or anchovy thing in the finish here that i simply could not get past. i dont know if its some compound in the fresh hops here thats usually denatured in the kilning process or what, but it smells and tastes like fish. it tastes like ipa too, and probably a pretty solid one, with a nice light body and a real floral hop bouquet, but all of that is secondary, and way secondary to the fact that this literally tastes like stinky canned fish in the finish. it doesnt ruin the beer exactly, because im curious why its there, others agreed with me on that too, its just fishy for whatever reason. seems like a weird critique of an ipa, that its fishy, but it really and truly is. i will have to revisit this one again sometime, but my takeaway here is that this is one weird brew, not for me.

 

 

 

Bottle opened on 9.17.14.

Tons of great hops. Tropical, citrus, sweet.