Fresh Hop 2024

Von Ebert FH Volatile Substance is on draft at Wildwood Taphouse (both locations) and the Barnes location of Cascadia Taproom.

 

Looks like it's already gone at Wildwood Tanasbourne. This is the beer you're better off drinking at a craft beer bar. I remember the Von Ebert locations were charging $9 a pint last year.

 

Actually you're better off trying to get cans. Those run $5 a pop instead of $9 or $10 on tap.

That said, the Digital Pour app informs me that Wildwood Cedar Mill has less than half a keg of FH Volatile Substance left, and a pint will set you back $8. (Update: I just checked again, and now their keg is at 83% with a pint price of $7.75.)

Or you could continue west on Barnes to Cascadia Heights, which has an almost-full keg and the same pint price.

Speaking of the Digital Pour app: Last weekend I searched for "fresh," and only a few places were pouring any beer which included that keyword. Last night I did the same search, and the map was packed.

The floodgates are opening, folks.

 

From the Baerlic Brewing newsletter:

We will be releasing our 1st Fresh Hop Beer of the season next Thursday September 5th, with subsequent releases happening EVERY Thursday throughout the month of September. There are 7 cans + 1 draft only release coming out of the brewery during that time, so the avalanche of hoppy goodness is definitely right around the corner...!

 

I enjoyed. I had a nice Springwater Corridor bike ride than somehow diverted south. The bartender gave me a taster of the fresh hop extra pale that will be out next week too. The piney hop punch was intense - looking forward to having more.

 

It was released at the beginning of October last year, so yeah, it's early. But the fresh hop is Strata, and Breakside also announced a beer with fresh Strata, so...dunno. I'll try to grab some tomorrow if not tonight.

Sounds grand! Which pub?

 

Very early. They did two versions last year, one with Strata and one with Mosaic. The latter was god tier. The Strata version came out late September last year. Mosaic was early October.

 

Pure speculation, but based on timing I infer that more breweries are doing cold side/dry hop additions (here’s where I think the term “wet hop” is an elegant usage as a counterpart to “dry hop”, though it’s unlikely to catch on) to release early in the season.

VE’s Strata FH Volatile Substance of late September last year was almost certainly a hot side addition, which makes me wonder if breweries will begin to double up on fresh hop quantities. Bring back enough for one batch of almost finished beer “wet hopped” and the rest into another batch on the hot side. A data-driven brewery like Breakside or Von Ebert has almost certainly done this before and I just wasn’t aware, but kinda A/B testing with the same fresh hops and all other variables as consistent as possible (same base ingredients, same sensory panel members, etc. though 3-4 weeks apart). 2 versions of Strata FH Volatile Substance- hot side vs. cold side?

 

Hi, All! First time listener, long-time caller!



Or, just … long time no see, but it’s fresh hop season, so I’m back.

Here’s the write-up for my first fresh hop for this season, shamelessly plagiarized (from my Untappd write up):

Great Notion - Fresh Hop Van Beer

(4.25)

 

Glad you liked them. I tried the extra pale while we were canning it today, and I agree the Chinook is nice and strong.

 

Foreland Pattern Generator Fresh hop IPA.
Very good.
It's a collab with Rise And Win a Japanese brewery.
Strata and Amarillo

 

Two of my favorite things!!

 

FH and IPA?
Milwaukie and Moksa?
Collab and on tap?

Kicked off my FH season with the Strata version of Volatile Substance. It was really good!

 

Black IPA and Fresh hop.
Though I prefer it to be called Cascadian Dark Ale

 

Ah! I know the area, and recognize the Royal Lancaster name, and even have an outdated image of the hotel in my mind. I've stayed in that neighborhood a couple times, in much plainer lodgings over on Sussex Gardens.

I did have a fine lunch and a stunning pint of Chiswick Bitter in a Fuller's pub in Paddington on my last trip to London. There was a delightful Hall & Woodhouse pub (rare for the area!) a couple blocks away, but I can't imagine it's still around, this many years later.

It would be great to hear about your London trip. Let me know when you're back in town and I'll buy the fresh hop pints.