Fresh Hop 2020

Damn near snorted beer out of my nose when I read that! Second thought was, will they take away his PacNW card for that post, or just sabotage his internet connections.

 

Enjoying a Fresh Hop Double Crush right now and I swear this just gets better year over year. It's a true sign of brewery ascension when I can say definitively that each year their seasonal releases improve significantly; BBIS, Three Ryes Men, FH Double Crush, all trounce their previous iterations.

This is creamy NE murktown like the base, but with added and brightened orange sherbet and other tired fresh hop adjectives. It's really good, but the palate exhaustion of the style still holds. I prefer the bitter nimbleness of FH Crikey and F2F, Mirage being the most glaring exception.

Had a few more over the previous weekend and week, so here's my updated ranking for the season:

1. Mirage Pleasure Race
2. Fremont F2F
3. Reuben's Fresh Hop Crikey
4. Ex Novo Eliot Centennial
5. Reuben's FH Double Crush
   
6. Silver City Wet Hop Tropic Haze
7. Single Hill Ecstasy of Green
8. Breakside Fresh Wanderlust - Cascade
   
9. Stoup Fresh Hop Fiend - Strata
10. Hellbent Strata FH
11. Ruse Prefrontal Polaroid
    
12. Matchless CSA
13. Occidental Fresh Hop Pilsner
14. Hopworks FH Ace of Spades
15. Crux Pert Near

Picked up a crowler of the FH Triple Crush and Cloudburst's Ultrawet as well, along with a few other singles.

 

Heads-up: Costco in Kirkland had case upon case upon case of Fremont F2F four-packs as of an hour ago.

 

Having a can of Stoup's FH Fiend with Simcoe. This might be favorite so far.

 

Damn the mother ship does not disappoint

 

Yeah but they’re probably stored at room temp. It’s an abomination.

 

I was just trying to be nice. Sheesh.

This year’s FG Fresh IPA is really good. Way better than the last couple years.

 

I’m enjoying the same beer right now. Almost done with the crowler. I probably haven’t had this since I reviewed it in 2014 but it is pretty good. Probably not in my top 3 though.

 

Also, I don’t think you can truly understand fresh hop season with just a short visit here.

 

I’ve been wanting to partake in the convos here lately, but I been SO BUSY drinking le fresh hops!

Tonight, GN (pils), then FH Hellbent, then FH Cloudburst.

But now?

Fresh Hop Holy Mountain DIPA with Into the Void.



I can’t copy and paste (in iOS, at least) from Untappd, but I had the wherewithal this time to copy and paste before submitting my write-up this time: “Cascade and Comet crowler craziness. Loads of fresh grapefruit. So many hazy IPAs end up too sweet. This doesn’t: It’s got loads of old school Cascade but hazy; it’s a double IPA but not too sweet; and, it’s a fresh hop. One of the better FHs this season.”

Still available at HM worth getting if you’re in the area.

 

SIG’s Fresher Yesterday (Strata) tastes like POG with some papaya thrown in for good measure. It’s musky and tropical and dank and I’m really enjoying it.

 

Breakside Milwaukie has 4 packs of Wanderlust in white cans. Not FH. With the wolf art.

 

I’ve got a crowler of Harvest the Void (assume that’s what you meant). I expected it would be good based on their Strata FH but this is very encouraging. Will probably save it for the Seahawks game on Sunday.

 

Well played, Sir Draheim!

I, too, am strategic in my fresh hop crowler deployments. I have a Reuben’s Fresh Hop Triple Crush for Sunday. How I deploy that between the midday Seahulks and the evening Sounders games will require more strategery on my part to ensure that I’m not a completely useless parent and spouse that day, but 1) I have a day to plan, and 2) I welcome the challenge!

 

That’s a challenge. 32oz x 10%. Just take your time. I’ve been nursing this crowler of Fort George Fresh IPA for the last 3 hours, watching Return of the King with my daughter. Still pretty much completely sober. I just feel bloated.

 

The Bearlic FH Trickle Drops is smashing with FH nose and flavor. Recommended.

 

Your message gives me hope (and not bloat). My daughter, who just turned 7, still freaks out in fear over the baddies in Spirit (animated horse series), all while my blu-ray LOTR:EE trilogy set looks at me longingly from the shelf. I repeatedly remind her that her first beer will be with me. (fingers crossed)

I got this guy, Isaac, though:



He’s in his mid-70s (in dog years) and is a good wingman/dog.

Pacing will be key. I’m just polishing off that HM FH Into the Void though, and I still have my wits, so I’ve got momentum heading into the weekend.