Celebration Question

Ditto.

 

Does the wording really matter that damn much? It's fantastic beer, whatever they do to it. Enjoy it and shut up.

 

It's amazing what you guys accomplish with the hop extracts and spices in that beer.

 

I've gone through our rationale for the distinction between the terms wet hop and fresh hop many, many, times on this site. We feel there is a clear difference, and we prefer to think of the distinction as an educational tool.
I realize that it can be confusing, but we've stuck to the same naming protocols for our wet/fresh hopped beers since we first brewed them, and every time there is a question, I think it's a great opportunity to reiterate what makes hops so phenomenal and interesting--specifically for us, who rely on whole unadulterated hops in all of our beers.

Nevertheless, the key word in the descriptor is hop...not fresh...for 99% of the drinking public. We feel that the use of the word "hop" as opposed to "spiced" at its base gives more of an impression to what the flavor of the finished beer will be to the majority of people who are going to buy this beer--people who largely neither know nor care what the fresh vs wet distinction is.

-B

 

Grrr.

 

There certainly is a difference between wet and first dryed hops of the season. Advertising the latter as "fresh hops" when that term has been used interchangeably with wet hops in the craft beer world previous to 2010; it is absolutely confusing and IMO, deceptive.

If you have to explain something time and time again, I don't think you can say that you are accurately or effectively conveying your point.

 

If your use of the phrase "Fresh Hop Ale" is targeting the 99%, my belief is they don't know nor care what the difference between hopped or spiced is either.

 

I don't mean to be rude, nor to single you out, but I personally don't see it as that confusing an idea. I remember hearing SN describe the distinction between wet and dry a couple years ago and it's been crystal clear since.

 

No worries, I am raising a point of contention, i expect people to respond.

Yes, they have explained it. The problem is that Fresh/wet hop has been used interchangeably for years to mean "wet" only. I added some labels to my post showing beers that, I beleive were all produced prior to SN chaging the labels of celebration to say "Fresh Hop" in 2010. Fresh hop was an established term, SN took it and is trying to change it, and it's confusing people.

 

I have to disagree with you there... In fact I poured beer at a festival last night and witnessed this firsthand... My booth was set up right next to Anchor. They were pouring OSA, we were pouring Celebration. People kept coming up to me, after visiting Anchor and asking to sample "your Christmas beer" meaning Celebration. About 30% were hesitant to try it because they don't like spiced beers. 30% were stoked to try it, then disappointed because it isn't spiced. 20% asked what spices we used before I even introduced the product, and 20% knew what Celebration was and dove in head first.

Mentioning hops the extent of what we want to do save changing all of the branding to let people know that they are in fact about to sample an IPA, not a spiced winter warmer.

B

 

My grandma's fresh hop beer is nowhere near as aromatic as it was 15 years ago.

 

Let's blame it on the snow and move on. As much as I love the label it does evoke a "winter warmer" feel.

 

Celebration is a great beer year in and year out. You changed, not the beer. Hard to accept, I know.

 

I think they should switch to a Kool & The Gang theme for the label.

 

How about her socks?

 

Wouldn't know. My grandma wears combat boots.

 

Well, years before that, "fresh hops" meant, well --- fresh dried hops. There's little doubt that's what these three clips from old beer ads are referring to...​

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... back when "wet hops" would never have been used in beer*, and the hop growers referred to them as green or raw hops.​

* With one notable (and obscure) exception...​

 

There's no deception, nor confusion. All "wet" hops are fresh, but not all fresh hops are "wet". I just got several pounds of pellet hops in the mail from the 2012 harvest. Should I not call these hops "fresh" simply because they're not "wet"?

 

You can call them whatever you want.
But, if you serve me the beer and call it a fresh hop pale ale, myself and anybody else, besides SNBill apparently, will assume it's wet hopped.

EVERY modern (post 2000, jesskidden) example of a beer with "fresh hop" on the label is a wet hop beer, except SN's Celebration.

According to that line of thought, every beer in existence that is brewed in Oct.-Nov. with the new harvest is a "fresh hop" beer, it's just dumb.

 

You shold take the argument as a sign of success. Your beer hasn't "made it" until we are start arguing about whether or not this year's batch is as hoppy as last year's batch was.