Homegrown Fresh Hop Ale
Moonlight Brewing Company

Can poured into a pint glass

A: Pours golden amber with a frothy frothy eggshell head that settles to a light layer and leaves plenty of nice lacing.

S: Green, grassy, herbal, resinous, spicy, a little citrus, hints of stone fruit, toasty bready malt, and just a touch of caramel sweetness.

T: Resinous pine, spicy herbal earthy notes, green, grassy, floral, underlying citrus, grapefruit and lemon, subtle stone fruit, apricot and peach, toasty bready malt, and a touch of dark caramel sweetness.

M: Just a touch on the fuller side of medium body, moderate carbonation.

O: Pretty much everything you could ask for from a wet hop beer, all packed into a classic American pale ale. Pure fresh hop goodness.

 

Fresh drop from lupulo. Canning date 1 month ago.

 

Cask conditioned at Mikkeller Bar San Francisco. Served at 55º F in a cylindrical pint glass.
A: Pours a crystal clear, amber to copper color with a one inch, wheat colored head, amazing head retention (I mean this remained substantial throughout), and decent lacing.
S: Aromas of citrus, especially grapefruit and caramel, with a herbal spice note.
T: Semidry to semisweet. Flavor of caramel malt is great and citrus dramatically less than the nose. Raisiny or figgy quality. Reminds me more of a mild than a pale ale, per se (although I recognize these are in a spectrum). Light to medium bitterness in very good balance with malts.
M: Medium (although on the full side) bodied and lightly effervescent.
O: A delicious, American pale ale with very, very strong British roots. A bit strong to act as a session drink (probably why it is classified as an APA). Held up well with German cuisine.

 

On tap at toronado SF.

It's sort of a root beer brown. Not too much floral hop aroma. Good bitterness nonetheless.

Look is chesnut brown, with good retention on the lacing, producing thin sticky lines around the cylinder. Smell is potent dank, pine-resin, citrucy hop profile, with also a decent malty biscuit undertones throughout. Medium mouthfeel. Pair with cedar plank salmon, or fresh herb crusted foods.

 

 

On tap at Beachwood, Seal Beach, CA.

Woo now. How we are talking! Smells like a fresh ocean of hops that maybe only Kelly Slater can barrel...but nah, Raul has this. So juicy, and a bit grassy like Natalie Wood starring in a Kazan film. So clean though...

Overall, it doesn't taste the best, it doesn't sceam at you... But the thang is just solid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Had this (as Green Buds) at the SF Toronado.

This is a 6.2% wet hopped brew with Cascade and Chinook.

I think it’s worth mentioning the hops when I know them, if only to start recognizing flavor profiles and similarities in hop varieties.

This has an amber-caramel color. Just a richly hued amber all around, topped by tight foam lacing.
As it warms the aroma release a dank aroma with hints of caramel sweetness rounding the edges. There’s a piney, medicinal, almost vegetal note to it—which I just love, I must mention.
The flavor is rich, malty, almost gruit-like in it’s taste and finish. Insanely smooth, with the malty sweetness balancing out the apparent bitterness and the lightly dank flavors, along with marmalade and pine.

This beer is intriguing—a sipper more than something I’d quaff but still insanely enjoyable. Another solid Moonlight brew.

Whew. Pungent hops here. Tight pine and citrus tones hit the mouth, fresh and fairly clean. There is an earthy bitter tone to it. This carries a good profile, but strikes me as a bit one-dimensional and direct. There's nothing wrong with it; just sayin'. A nice beer, though the dirty bitterness is a detractor somewhat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A - Served a clear copper-amber color with a finger of frothy slightly off-white head atop. The head faded down fairly slowly leaving behind some nice lacing in the process.

S - Aroma is full of fresh pine and citrus hops with some nice earthiness and some sweet malts providing some balance and depth.

T - Starts off with lots of fresh flora and citrus hops. Some good grapefruit and earthy hop flavors come through. There is also some sweet caramel malt flavor building. Through the middle, the hop flavor gets a bit stronger alongside some more bitterness and malt flavor. The finish is again, big on the hop and bitterness with just enough sweet malts lingering.

M - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Feels smooth with a nice dry and earthy mouthfeel.

D - Very drinkable. Really nicely balanced harvest ale with a nice hop and malt balance that still really features the fresh hop flavor nicely.

On-tap at Beachwood I,

A: Pours a light amber with a medium white head. Good retention and leaves thick lace.

S: Grapefruit and melon, strong hop notes.

T: Hop dominated, with a lot of lemon and pine. Bitter, but the hops give a lot of complexity. Full-flavoured.

M: Medium-bodied, very resiny, sticky with hop oil. Refreshing for sure when at a cooler temperature.

O: Another great one from Moonlight. My thanks to Beachwood for being able to get these kegs.

On tap at Flavor Bistro, review from written notes.
Served up by Brian from Moonlight no less, poured into a small stemmed wine glass.

Copious foam, so much so that it formed irregular peaks that rose above the rim of the glass momentarily. Body was a dark amber gold that had some haze to it, with visible streams of carbonation around the edges.

Mild aroma of C hops and specialty malt, sort of medicinal, hoppy but not really all that interesting, especially for a wet-hopped harvest ale. Reminded me of Sierra Nevada hemisphere harvest ales of the past.

Resiny and bitter hop flavor, citrus rind, grassy. Flavor defintely delivers the hop goods. Medium bodied, crisp and dry feel. Lightly sweet malt presence. Good for a pint, but not necessarily an attention-grabbing example of a wet-hopped APA.

On tap at Toad in the Hole.

Clear amber body. Short but dense, off-white head. Leaves a compact covering the whole session.

Juicy grapefruit. Some ganja and pine. Light caramel malts.

Lot of juicy citrus, grapefruit mostly. A subtle but strong malt backbone, biscuit like. The finish shows off pine hops with a bitterness that lingers for a while. It's a little creamy, most likely due to the fact that it's from the cask.

A very nice wet hop ale. Delicious.

Great fresh hop pale. From description, sounds like the hops are a bit tamer this year. This is a perfect picture of balance between a lush, velvety bodied, softly malted and lightly hop forward brew. Resiny pine and a hint of aspirin and grapefruit provide a chewy, tangy finish and enough lift to scrape the tongue clean. Could drink this all day, a lovely drinkable pale.

On tap at toronado sf, a hazy, deep straw pour in a tumbler with moderate retention and lacing.

This is an excellent, characterful and well-balanced ale. I didn't know it was a fresh-hop ale when I first had it as I had seen only the name "Homegrown"
and only after drinking it was told about the fresh-hop part, but the fresh hops really come through in the character, subtle, herbaceous, complex, and very well-rounded in character.

Deep golden amber, it has a firm, medium off-white head, creamy, slowly shrinking to a foamy ring and leaving some nice lace.

Aroma is woody-herbally, with plum, grain, hints of citrus and baked apple.

Taste is overall somewhat raisiny, toasty with firm toasted crackers, plus a lot of wood, herbs (faintly minty), wet grass, spicey green leaves. The character and body are full, it has nice, subtle complexity, and it has an excellent firm, somewhat creamy, yet zesty and lively, feel.

On tap at Gourmet Haus Staudt, '09 batch served in the Moonlight imperial pint glass.

The beer is copper-colored with the slightest haze. One and a half fingers of thick white froth tops the amber body, leaving sheets of lace around the rim of the glass as it empties. The head retention is exceptional.

The aroma wafted over to my nostrils only moments after being set before me, noticeable even half a foot away. Floral, herbal, wet. Grapefruit, lemon, cut grass, so damn fresh.

The taste is remarkably delicate, dry but loaded with floral, herbal, grassy hop flavors. There's literally no astringency, but it has all the flavor of sucking on a whole hop cone. The body is light, crisp, the mouthfeel dry and only mildly bitter. Grapefruit flavors linger on the palate in the finish, while malt goes nearly unnoticed. This is exceptional.

I've had this beer many times this season at The Bistro and Trappist but finally sitting down and doing a review. Served in a standard pint glass at Triple Rock in Berkeley. From notes 11/07/09.

Pours a clean medium amber colored body and forms a very sturdy off white head. Shows lots of carbonation.

Smells of toasted bread, oily, leafy and bitter hops, and some caramel malt notes. Hop aromas are nice, but somewhat muted compared the flavor I know is coming from previous tastings.

Very strong resinous, sappy, green leafy cannibus-like goodness, with some citrus and bitter hops. This is held in check by just enough sweet caramel, graham cracker, bready, and fuity malts. A little tobacco and burnt marshmellows join the hops in the aftertaste.

Medium bodied, very strong carbonation cuts through the slighlty oily finish nicely. I'm thinking a slightly thicker feel and less carb might suit this flavor profile well but still very nice.

Overall one of my favorite fresh hop beers. Moonlight is climbing the ranks of my favorite American brewers. Haven't had a bad beer from them yet.

Copper colored with a fine white lace.

Sweet pale malt aroma, with funky, ripe citrus fruit hops.

Softly sweet, toffee-like malt with mild hops at first, and maybe a touch of diacetyl. The hops become more pronounced toward the back, with tropical fruit and ripe citrus notes becoming cleaner, drier and more bitter in the finish. The beer has a gentle, English bitter quality about it but with a distinctively American hop accent.

Hops are slightly odd, this may not be the freshest keg. Still, a nice drinking beer with a tasty, biscuit-like malt base and some fruity hop notes and a good clean finish.

On tap at the Trappist in Oakland.

A: Pours a deep orange-amber, slightly murky. The head is a finger's worth of off-white foam that retains for about a minute before retreating into a half-finger thickness. Nice lacing down the glass as I drink.

S: A very interesting aroma that grew on me substantially by the end of the glass. An earthy / woodsy smell that most of us related to a cigar humidor. Wet green hops and substantial herbs and spice. Absolutely unique, pungent, and oustanding.

T: I didn't get any woodsy stuff in the taste, but earth and wet green hops came through very nicely. The aroma and taste combination reminded me of walking through a forest after a light drizzle. The mid-taste was wet green hops again; the finish was herbal and marijuana-like with some spices I couldn't place. Throughout the taste, I picked up a muddled dark malt character -- caramel, brown sugar? -- that didn't quite meld right.

M: Medium-bodied, moderate carbonation. Lightly dry on the finish. Went down easily and didn't wreck the palate.

D: It was good, but I didn't love it. I'd give it a second try if I saw it again.

On tap at The Red in Santa Cruz. Light honey amber color with a dank sticky offwhite head. Nice lacing. Pineapple and grapefruit hop flavors with some herbal notes and light caramel sweetness. Flavor is caramel and berry sweetness with a lot of resinous oily hops. Completely unastringent, with a light bitterness that could stand to be stronger. The dry aftertaste lingers nicely.

Yet another one to thank RedwoodG for sendin my way. Harvested and brewed on Sept 9, 2006. Home bottled with care on October 12, 2006. Into my chalice on November 28, 2006. Pours a deep copper orange hue, darker than I would have expected. A nice half inch of airy bubbly head tops it off. Lookin good so far. Aromas begin with dank, herbal green hops and I must say the green bud name fits! Somewhat earthy and spicy with a piney undertone. Very light skunkiness. Mellow caramel malts in the background. Green herb aroma dominates...quite a unique brew.

First sip brings a burst of green, resinous herbal hops upfront. Somewhat piney and earthy with an interesting spiciness as well. Backed by a lightly toasty, biscuity, caramel maltiness. Bitterness is nice and big and rolls down from start to finish. There's a really herbal quality to this brew and plump green hop cones come to mind with each sip. Finishes with lingering hop notes and bitterness as well. Overall, a tasty fresh hop IPA that I would never turn down!

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a nice light creaminess to it as well. Perfect carbonation here. This ends up being quite an easy drinkin beer for the hop lover. Seeing this is from the west coast I assumed it would be a big citrus bomb...but it's far from that! A tasty fresh hop brew from Moonlight that I'm stoked to have had the opportunity to sample. The bomber goes down without any problems.

Like everyone else has stated from George's unauthorized bottling project part 2. Many thanks for the chance George.

Pours a deep copper color thats slightly hazy a small one finger off white head forms and falls some lace left behind.

Aroma is fresh hops grass clippings and herbs sprinkled on top of asparagus. The smell is nice inviting and somewhat different then most IPA's.

Taste is hops right off nice green juicy like the smell asparagus sprinkled with grass clippings and herbs. Malt is underneath a mixture of caramel with bready hints. Hops taste fresh and wet with some good bitterness. A decent IPA, would be a nice change from the usual if it was available anywhere.

Mouthfeel is medium but seems somewhat fuller but don't think it is. Carbonation has a little pep to it.

Drinkability is good an enjoyable beer, nice hops good bitterness, and a wee bit different. Wouldn't be a regular but would be good when you want something a bit different.

Hophead hats off once again to RedwoodGeorge for sending out this fresh hop ale as one fourth of his 'Unauthorized Home Bottling Project II'. I hope that the label makes it through the queue soon because, like all of his labels, it's extremely well done and is better than what ones sees on most 'authorized' craft beer.

Flawless electric tangerine suffused with a rich, bronze-like glow. Atop the gorgeous beer is a gorgeous head of barely orange-tinted alabaster that has character to burn. The crown is gently rocky as it deflates and graces the glass with an attractive array of finely pocked lace. I have a feeling that the beer will be as wonderful to drink as it is to look at.

Home Grown has a fresh, resinous, raunchy aroma of pink grapefruit, passionfruit, melon and mary jane. It's fruity and funky at the same time and strikes me as remarkably similar to another Unauthorized brew, Russian River's HopTime Harvest. There's nothing better than fresh hops. Picking these things must be quite the experience.

While chewing those little green cones isn't advisable (I've done it), creating beer from them, beer that tastes like this anyway, most certainly is. Maybe it's the fact that it's been more than two months since brewing and more than one month since bottling, but Home Grown isn't as vibrantly hoppy as I had hoped it would be. It's still tremendous beer, it just isn't special beer. Fresh from the tap is almost certainly a different story.

There's plenty of malt on hand that provides the merest hint of caramel flavor amidst what is probably a pale dominanted malt bill. Most well-brewed fresh hop beer (which this one is, without question) is more heavily slanted to the hoppy side of the scale. While I wouldn't call Home Grown balanced, it certainly isn't a buzzsaw of alpha acids. The hop bill is a mystery to me and I won't even hazard a guess.

[One telephone call later... straight from Brian Hunt himself: flavored and bittered with fresh Cascade whole hop flowers that were picked the day of bottling, a very small amount of Horizon, and dry hopped with Chinook.]

Musky citrus fruit rind, pine sap, balsam and a certain unauthorized herb are still the dominant members of the flavor profile. They set up a mid-level thrum above the sugar cookie-like bass line of the malt, rather than the screaming, high end brilliance that I prefer in my IPAs. Again, might I be more impressed if I traveled to Sonoma County and opened a tap directly into my mouth? Probably.

The body/mouthfeel is phenomenal. Each gulp expands as if by magic to fill the mouth with flavor and lightly creamy lushness. Good beer feels voluminous rather than two dimensional and this one is exhibit 'A' in that regard. Kudos to Mr. Hunt and Mr. Bright for the brewing and the bottling respectively.

Homegrown (Greenbud) is a good IPA that falls short of great due to a wee lack of hoppy immediacy, something that all great fresh hop beer should ooze from its every pore. It's still tremendously enjoyable and I hope that I get the chance to try it super fresh some day.

I sample this beer with another BA who owes thanks for the opportunity to a trade with RedwoodGeorge.... Hand-bottled via counter-pressure system, this beer was fantastic and well worth the effort.

Appearance: Pours a tea color with a orange amber gold that lean toward a crimson red hue. (oh how to describe) The tan head was minimal but sufficient and left a little bit of frothy spots of a cap and a frothy halo around the top of the beer. It left little splotches of lacing here and there.

Smell: Starts of with a big whiff if Cascade hops, then there is another hop there I am certain but I am not sure what it is. After the sharp pine aroma there is a pleasantly minty leafy aroma and of course that grass. There is also a toasted malt and slightly butterscotch candy aroma underneath the hops. The aromas and flavor of this beer are all incredibly reminiscent of the Simcoe hop used in Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA though this beer seems like a more restrained; rather tamed version of the beast =)

Taste: The flavors follow the nose. Again it tastes very "Simcoe" with grapefruit hops and buttery creamy smooth sweet toasty malts.

Mouthfeel: Solid strong body that stands up in the mouth. It is slick oily and thick through the center but wrapped with prickly hops that keep it feeling very active.

Drinkability: I really wish that Moonlight Brewing Company would bottle this one. I buy a couple cases.

Hope this is helpful.
Cheers!