Local Fresh Hop Beers

Fresh hop Myrtle was my jam last year.

 

I agree entirely (after all, I started a whole thread suggesting that fresh hop beers should be their own style)... as long as you mean that the brewer is doing it wrong, and not the consumer. As far as I know, there's basically only one correct way to drink a beer, and gravity is doing most of the work.

 

Ha! yes, correct, if the brewer has to talk about where and when the hops went in to let the drinker know it is a fresh hopped beer, then what's the point (i.e., the brewer is doing it wrong).

I remember that thread. I was going to post and say something similar to my comments here but the conversation got to silly before I had a chance. This is of course just my opinion. People can make these beers anyway they want, but I know what I am looking for in these beers and when I find it.

 

It's sad that pumpkin beers pretty much overshadow fresh hops.

[sigh]

Oh well, more for me.

 

I also get the impression that people outside Cascadia (and maybe California) don't have any idea what the hell we're talking about here. It seems like you and Draheim were talking to a (midwest/east coast) brick wall in that thread.

Fresh Hop season is the best season of the year. TRUTH.

 

My local does a fresh hop called Alpha Reign, but it's ass like the regular version.

 

That thread was ridiculous.

Can't wait for fresh hop beers.

 

I don't know, I can see the day where fresh hop ales rival the popularity of pumpkin, at least in the Northwest. I remember going to the Elysian Pumpkin Fest back in 2005 and having no trouble scoring a table. But every year the format of the fest changed to accommodate the continual expansion of the fest.

Contrast that with the growth of fresh hop tap takeovers/fests at local pubs, they seem to get bigger every year, much the same way that Elysian's fest grew to a sprawling shindig that is so big it must be held outdoors. Another example is Fremont. The first two years Cowiche was bottled they'd happily sell cases at the brewery. There's been a bottle limit ever since (IIRC anyway) to satisfy demand.

They'll likely never reach the zenith of pumpkin beers nationwide due to scarcity, the demand for them, and the inherent difficulty utilizing them. But people love hops. We all know the crazy shit people do to get their hands on beers like Pliny or Heady or whatever the current flavor of the week. So in the NW, where these hops are more plentiful, I expect the popularity to continue to grow.

The rest of the country will probably never fully catch on, but who cares? We should be used to them being wrong anyway.

 

I think Fresh Hop Festivals/Season should be a national draw to our region. It should be a short and sweet season and be done until next year. If it was more widely know, I think the best possible out come would be lots of people coming to the region to celebrate the harvest, like the running of the bulls or something. The worst would be lots of versions that don't grasp what these beers are about* and "FH" bottles that sit in cellars dying. To get there, I think brewers need to collaborate on these beers 'in season' with other brewers around the country.

Personally, I think Pumpkin beers are a cult type beer. I know there are all stripes out there, but I feel like there is a core punkin' head audience that doesn't cross over much into broader beers and styles. I think of them as a spice beer forward set (rather the subtle additions ala Belgian). Just my opinion, but I think anyone, for example, talking about how they can't wait for pumpkin beers when it's spring is pretty hard core. As a producer, the geeks complain about how early these come out and the Pumpkin set is chomping at the bit.

*FWIW, I think of FH beers as not "hoppier" in the generic sense, but like a fresh glass of OG, rather then from concentrate. They have more of the spectrum of flavors of the fruit. In this context, a body (horticultural viscosity) that isn't sweet, and very delicate fruit and tea flavors. I often go to fruit cup or peach snapple as discriptors. That is what I like in these beers, though lots of variations/opinions exist. Thanks for listening.

 

Boundary Bay isn't making a specific Fresh Hop, but they are putting the the hops that grow on-site into the Harvest Rye. Some kegs should make into regular accounts, but mostly it'll be brewery only.

 

alameda brewing does one of the best (and least known) fresh hop beers every year. named after a NE street as usual, I forget the name. it is fantastic.

my other favorite thing to do is hit the Deschutes brewpub. think they had 8 fresh hop beers last year. Fresh hop Mirror Pond is truly outstanding (and Im not even big mirror pond fan)

 

The last time I had Fresh Hop Mirror Pond was 3 years ago (bottled). Maybe it has been available only on draft since then; I haven't seen it. And I've been watching for it.

There are reviews as recent as 8/6/2014 and a trickle all the way through spring and winter (same is true of Cowiche Canyon), which make me wonder if people are still drinking last year's...

 

People also tend to confuse Cowiche Fresh Hop with the Hop Lab IPA.

 

After witnessing all the confusion in the fresh hop as a style thread that isn't a big surprise.

 

Went out and did some "research" for ya. Wander is not doing one this year, but they've got some other surprises coming up, but will do one next year. Kulshan is going to do one, but they're not sure what.It's going to depend on what hops they can get. Neither Chuckanut nor Menace is doing one. I'll get around to North Fork and Aslan over the weekend.