Visiting Seattle (Summer 2016 Update)

Actually I can see someone new to fresh hop beers not liking them. They can be a little on the harsh side and green tasting for beginners.

 

That's fair.

Not directed at the poster, but I could see them offputing for people whose exposure to IPA is NE juicy hazy fruit bombs.

 

I'm sorry Fremont was a disappointment, diiferent strokes and all that. Like distantmantra, I'm blindsided by this response as a Fremont fan. Doesn't mean your perspective is any less valid, but I'm super curious about which beers you tried and what they were lacking.

 

I think Fremont suffers a bit, at times, from heightened expectations. It's clear to most (all?) of us that they have a genuinely world-class barrel program, and their other special releases are consistently stellar. But if someone shows up from out of town and just samples their "regular" stuff, they might leave feeling underwhelmed, having hoped for more based on everything, and specifically all the hype, that they'd heard.

Personally, I dig Fremont's everyday & regular seasonal offerings, from UniversAle, to Summer Ale, to the beers in the Imperial Series like The Brother, Dark Star, Abominable, etc...They are, to my mind, all consistently excellent and well-balanced examples of their particular styles. But I suppose I can understand some "foreigner" making a pilgrimage to the UBG with great notions of something Rare in their mind and being a little disappointed by a staple like Wandering Wheat. What's harder to understand is their not liking the current FH stuff, or anything else that's special, on tap. But not all tongues, or minds, are the same. And besides, if someone goes back to NY saying that Fremont's terrible, I'd call that a win.

 

fremont's tap list right now is probably the best it has been in 2016. and it'll only get better over the next two weeks.

 

This:

Specifically, I tried:

• Proletariat
• Citrado (Citra + El Dorado)
• Kolsch
• The Brother
• Session Pale
• Field to Ferment: Centennial
• Interurban

Nothing hoppy hit the standards of what I tasted last week from, say, Skookum or Bale Breaker.
Even the fresh hop ale was not the brightest example of Centennial I've had.
And I'm no "beginner."

 

Stopped by Fremont on Saturday night. Really cool spot. Grabbed a couple bottles, had some vintage BA Dark Star pours and a taste of the fresh hops. Very nice.

Tried to go to Cloudburst before that but it was standing room only so decided to nope out of there.