Fresh Hop 2020

If Digital Pour is to believed, theres about a quarter of a keg left at Noble Hop Bierhaus in downtown Hillsboro.

@Reidrover , its at Westside taphouse in Salem too

 

I think Holy Mountain is hitting it out of the park with their fresh hops this year, and this one is no exception. Kiln & Cone was one of my favorite beers ever from them (they just never seemed to make it with any regularity, to my dismay), and I believe this is their fresh hop take on that beer. It's still available for sale on their website, FWIW.

 

I love Bale Breaker, but I have to admit, I haven't been blown away by their fresh hops. I keep hoping, and I keep trying, and they're never terrible, but they've also never been stellar.

If I didn't have so damn much beer in my fridge right now, I might do it...stay strong, snaotheus, no FOMO...

 

I mean we really are spoiled this time of year and I think we can’t look at it as “missing out.” Too much of a good thing can be dangerous, to paraphrase @John_M. Aside from one trip over to West Seattle at the start of fresh hop season in Seattle, I’ve just grabbed what was easiest and most convenient, which for me has been a radius of less than 10 miles. I’ve lost track of the “new to me” fresh hop beers I’ve had since the beginning of September but the number has definitely exceeded my expectations, and the vast majority have been excellent. I think we have all been able to try some exceptional beers over the last 4 to 6 weeks. And I’ve had virtually nothing from Oregon. Yesterday at Chuck’s I passed over a lot of FH beers just because I know I can’t try them all, and space in my beer fridge is extremely limited at this point.

For me, this has been an opportunity not just to enjoy some wonderful beers but to also support an industry that is probably struggling quite a bit right now. So it actually gives me a really good feeling to buy these beers, as hard as it’s been on my bank account.

 

These two quotes are good perspective. Two months ago, I was wondering how many fresh hop beers would be available this year.

Today I'm enjoying a fresh hop collab between Breakside of Oregon and La Cumbre of New Mexico. I am grateful to have had the chance to try this one.



I am also grateful to have a backpack full of fresh hop beers to enjoy when I get home at the end of my bike ride.

Fresh Hop Pallet Jack gave me FOMO. Worthy as it is, I should have done a better job of trying not to let that happen.

 

Barley Browns also has Fresh Hop Mitch IPA with Citra which they confirmed will be distributed to some locals in PDX

 

Including my preferred local, Orenco Taphouse.

 

How 'bout some fresh hop SCIENCE?

Turns out I bought a fresh hop beer today that is from way outside the NW.



This fresh hop Double IPA is from Cleveland, OH, and features "one of our favorite new hops, Strata, straight from the farm in Oregon..."

The beer is heavy, sticky, and tangy, with that dank and resiny back end from fresh Strata hops. The fresh hop component is rather muted after being canned 2 whole weeks ago, but the beer is not bad at all. Especially considering how far it and the hops have travelled in the past month.

 

Head Full of Fresh Hops sighting at the Vancouver New Seasons.

Still has a ton of Field to Ferment and Cowiche Canyon as well.

 

I was kinda hoping they’d put C&C out in distro so I wouldn’t have to buy a full four pack. Oh well.

 

And it’s called a fresh hop. Huh.

 

To be fair, I failed to copy a key word from the start of the blurb.

The full description from the Masthead Brewing website reads:

The annual hop harvest in the Pacific Northwest is our brewers’ favorite time of year. We overnighted one of our favorite new hops, Strata, straight from the farm in Oregon to present you with Wet Case Scenario, a Fresh Hop Double IPA. Enjoy this unique flavor and aroma you only get once a year.

(emphasis mine)

When I sampled some fresh hop beers at Cellarmaker in SF a couple years ago, I think they made similar claims about the freshness of their hops. Something like "We added hops less than 24 hours after they'd been harvested."

 

Some people really enjoy taking coal to Newcastle, I guess.

 

Is it any wonder consumers can be confused as to what means what? Or if they even truly mean something different? Here's a brewer using both Fresh and Wet. Just Fn pick one and be consistent.

 

Well I think NW brewers generally are consistent. The only beer that I’ve seen this season labeled with the “wet hop” descriptor is Citra Slicker. But I’ve probably seen 50 or more others, all called “fresh hop.” I think since the vast majority of fresh hop beers are made here (and please correct me if that’s not true—I think the only state/region that might be in a position to make more would be California), the default terminology has already been chosen.

 

And I'm OK with that, somewhat defined by both region and history. Can they just get their non-PacNW brethren to follow suit? I don't think CA has the brewing volume of these beers that's found in PacNW.

Can't recall if it was in this thread or a different one, but there was mention to a Fresh Hop Festival that started in 2002. So there's 20 years of precedent. Also don't recall if @jesskidden weighed in on historical usage of "fresh hop", in the sense we're referring to it (freshly harvested non-kilned usage), and "wet hop".

On a COVID note, seems like it hasn't terribly limited your access to these fine fresh hop beers up there. I've definitely noticed a huge drop in availability in CA. I've only had 3 this year, one driven from OR, one shipped from San Diego, and one local. I'm sure I'll cross paths with a few more, but it'll be the lowest number of them for me personally in a long time.

 

Short answer, no. I think PNW brewers are already doing what they can by being consistent in their language. Maybe we are just waiting for everyone else to catch up. It only seems to cause confusion outside the PNW, because here when we hear the term “fresh hop” we understand exactly what that means.

 

@distantmantra brought that up in this post:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/fresh-hop-2020.645054/page-15#post-7041281

 

Just opened a Citra Slicker, the last "new to me" fresh hop beer in my possession. It's a worthy offering but not my favorite. My fridge is overflowing with cans. I might have a problem.

 

Trade ya a Crux Sabro FH for a Cone and Cone. You know you want to. It’s like a pina colada mimosa. I’ve also got an extra Mirage Pleasure Race if you missed that one.