Fresh Hop 2024

When I went up to order my second beer at Formula yesterday, I was overwhelmed by a delightfully familiar aroma. They were bringing in a bag of fresh hops. Apparently they're going to be brewing some kind of fresh hop beer, but my bartender didn't know what kind, when it would be ready, and if there would be more than one.

 

The FH XPA with Chinook is on tap at Milwaukie, not sure about the other locations but definitely cans and draft by next week.

 

It appears to be on tap at the Beaverton location. Must investigate...

 

I do a lot of my weekly beer buying at New Seasons and in years past they have always had a decent variety of fresh hop beers, always very fresh. This year? I saw one Stormbreaker beer last week and the Occidental FH Pilsner this week. That’s it. Perhaps the floodgates will open soon? Or, I wonder, if New Seasons is consciously making a choice to not get involved as much as they have in the past? Considering all the other changes since they sold the company I wouldn’t be surprised.

Managed to find a FH Eliot at Zupan’s (the only FH beer they had - but a ton of festbiers to restock my fridge!) today. If I had no idea what hop it was Centennial would be very easy to guess. Dryer than I prefer, but showcases the hop very well.

 

Breakside Fresh Hop Pilsner.
Glorious use of hops

 

On the fence about attending the Fresh Hop Festival in Yakima, The biggest problem I have is paying $65 for 4 9 oz pours. Additional pours are $4 each. Anybody that has been there in the past think it's worthwhile? Are there typically other Fresh Hop events taking place in Yakima on the same night as the festival that would be a good alternative to the festival?

 

One good Fresh Hop event is just going around to bars and breweries and trying various fresh hops on tap at regular prices

 

I bet if one went to Bale Breaker, Single Hill, and Varietal, then checked the taplists at Bill’s, Cowiche Kitchen, and Public House locations, one would find enough FH beers to rival the fest.

 

You'd be in pretty good shape for getting in pretty bad shape with a very happy palate

 

How feasible is this itinerary on public transit and/or cabs and rideshares for an out of towner? That's the one benefit of festivals, especially for folks traveling from afar.

 

The fest is going to win on convenience no doubt, and if relying on rideshares to get around to multiple spots that $65 ticket would get eclipsed pretty quickly.

I’m not aware of any other events that weekend, and think the likelihood of another event planner scheduling a separate FH event on that date in a town the size of Yakima is slim to none.

The alternative is putting together a plan of one’s own, and the places I listed are where I’d focus with my finite knowledge of the best places in town. I’ve always wanted to go to the FH fest and never been, but if I had to have an alternative on that date I’d:
- stay at the Hilton downtown
- drive to the Public House for whatever looks good plus crowler or to-go options
- return to hotel, walk the two blocks to Single Hill
-walk a few more blocks to Cowiche Kitchen
- then a few more blocks to Bill’s.
- I’d be further away from the hotel by then so maybe a Lyft back rather than a long stumble
- If I wasn’t totally finished by that point I’d dig into the to-go stuff I grabbed at Public House.

 

…or I’d just post up at Single Hill; I know I love the beer and people there and they’d have more than 4 fresh hop beers, available for less than $16.25 per 9oz.

 

At pFriem having a Centennial FH, tons of watermelon and citrus with that green spice.

 

for anybody in SW Portland/Beaverton area, loyal legion Beaverton has the pFriem FH centennial on tap. given that my girls go to dance next door, seems like a visit is a smart thing to do

 

Can confirm that it is the smart thing to do, and that pFriem FH Centennial IPA is a very tasty beer.

 

From the Block 15 newsletter:

We're excited to share our Fresh Hop beers with you, starting with a new beer, Static Shatter, this Friday and our first-ever Fresh Hop Sticky Hands next week.

This year, our fresh Strata and Citra hops were grown at Coleman Agriculture's Alluvial Hop Farm in Independence, Oregon. We're lucky that our brewery is close to hop farms in the Willamette Valley, allowing us to work with hops the same day they're harvested.

Back at our production brewery, we froze the hops with liquid nitrogen and shattered them to expose the lupulin glands before adding them to the fermenter as a dry hop. This technique brings out the most vibrant aromas and flavors, and we hope you enjoy!

Static Shatter - Fresh Hop American IPA
Brewed with fresh-picked Strata Hops from Alluvial Hop Farms, we used a "shattering" method to extend the fresh hop notes of passionfruit and fresh-cut alfalfa to every sip.

To recap, our top story tonight: Fresh Hop Sticky Hands next week.

 

From the Baerlic Brewing newsletter:

Baerlic will be releasing our first 2 Fresh Hop beers of the season this coming Friday September 6th at open. We'll be kicking off the season with Punk Rock Time IPA that's loaded up with that fresh STRATA goodness, plus Never Fresh'r Pale Ale with a crazy fresh dosing of LUMINOSA hops. Both of these releases will feature hops from our friends at Goschie Farms down in the Willamette Valley & were picked, hustled back to the brewery, & then added to the beer all within 4 hours this year. Now that's freshness in every part of the process!