Fresh Hop Season 2022

Another from the bay area, Scissor Hash with FH Strata from Ghost Town. I'm not feeling this one as much as Resin Fingers, it has some sweetness that might be covering the FH character.

 

Off work and at Lumberbeard, where I'm drinking Fresh Dreams, which is not nearly the hazeboi I had heard it was, and I'm quite happy about it. Brewed with whole cone Strata hops, per LB. I quite like this.

 

did they happen to say where the hops came from? considering theyre all proprietary varieties i assume theyre from the PNW? another Indie Hops customer?

 

A former Breakside brewer went to Pinthouse a few years ago, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he was involved in this (or if they used the shatter technique).

 

Haha yeah there's definitely a difference in the passion for the cones outside of the PNW.

 

Per their IG, Fresh Hop Training Bines is a “fresh hop” by way of the YCH 301 Trial pellets (cryo pellets from last years harvest).

 

Does that make them a not-so-fresh hop?

Without rehashing things that we’ve collectively discussed, or renewing a wet v. fresh debate over nomenclature, I think there should be some limits on the extent to which a “fresh hop” beer can be considered, well, fresh.

Last year’s hops, in whatever state or form, don’t fit that requirement for me.

 

Most places are unafraid to call them Frozen Fresh Hops up here.

 

Frozen, as in from the previous year? (And if so, why wait so long?) Or flash frozen from a current years crop?

As with most things, I am out of the loop here. But I do love “fresh/wet hopped” beers no matter what they’re called and seek them out every chance I get.

 

I hope you go for the Extra Credit... and collect samples from the field to enjoy later.

 

The hops are from last year. For this YCH 301 Trial, they underwent the cryo pelletization process as fresh hops rather than the typical post-drying pelletization.

 

I think I'm going to head up to Fremont and maybe Reuben's tonight to see if they've got stuff for me to try or buy.

 

Is it possible to go to those places and leave thirsty AND empty handed?

 

It's never happened to me, but I better try it again just to verify

 

Here’s one from CA. Had it on tap at the brand new Green Cheek Sunset Beach location back on Friday. Doesn’t get any better than this. to Cheeky.

 

you should go over to ABGB

 

Thanks for the report, John! Your dedication to SCIENCE is an example to us all.

 

Fresh Hop Crushable at Reuben's, with some Fresh Hop Hazealicious to go

Fresh Hop strike out at Fremont
Apparently Field to Ferment went fast

 

I'm at Perry Street. They're doing some sort of a FH event on Thursday, but they've already got the 2022 edition of their Mosaic hopped Master Exploder on already as a teaser. Awfully tasty beer.

 

News from Bale Breaker via The Northwest Beer Guide. 9 FH, but 7 appear to be taproom/draft only.

https://www.northwestbeerguide.com/home/2022-balebreaker-freshop9

I am personally excited for Citra Slicker releasing on 9/30. Hasn’t disappointed yet. Will start the hunt for Homegrown Fresh Hop.

 

A certain amount of it certainly went south fast. According to a Facebook post, Field to Ferment was available yesterday at one of San Diego's best bottle shops.

Keep an eye out. I'm sure Fremont made plenty.

 

I haven't seen it anywhere yet.

Also, FH beers are going FAST this year in Seattle. Cans of nearly anything seem to last a day or two at most bottle shops around me. And my PCC isn't getting any at all. Last year they had at least two or three at all times.

 

I usually like to try a beer - buy just one can/bottle - to see if I like it and then go back for more if I do. Much of shopping gets done at New Seasons and with any other beer I can do that, but with fresh hop beers I usually only get one shot at something. If I buy only one and really like it I end up waiting until the next year, but even that's no good because half the time I don't like the same label the same amount two years in a row. Tis the season.

 

From yesterday's email newsletter from Machine House Brewing:

Fresh Hop Simcoe Bitter (4%)

Our second of five fresh hop beers this year. We keep coming back year after year to this recipe with these hops, as it seems to be the perfect beer to combine the unique qualities of fresh hops with our classic cask brewing sensibilities. Amazingly aromatic Simcoe hops, freshly picked at Loftus Ranches in Yakima, lend subtle notes of citrus, peach and pine to this easy-drinking and slightly malty English pale. It won't last long, get it while it lasts!

Very excited for this one. It's been one of my favorite FH beers the past 2 years.

 

What Fresh Beast w/ Talus is on tap at Milwaukie. If you want intensity then this is the one for you.

 

Sorry if this was posted elsewhere in the thread, but has Georgetown commented on their offerings this season?

 

more fresh hop pilsners please!!!

I really enjoyed the Gigantic Freshtoberfest, a German Pils, I had yesterday. Breakside Fresh Sterling Pilsner and StormBreaker What We Brew in the Shadows - Fresh Hop have also made great impression on me this season.

 

Instantly felt heard: Occidental Fresh Hop Pilsner and Ex Novo Fresh Hop Perle Haggard with Sterling were in the coolers at Belmont Station today.

I hear that this year's Zoiglhaus Fresh Hop Sterling Pilsner is out now too. My first stop this weekend is sorted.

 

Sister Strata from Laughing Monk, this one's pretty nice, like most of the westies from LM.



Had a handful of FH bay area brews but I'm looking forward that number exploding over the next few days as I head to Portland tomorrow

 

After a couple of days off visiting my folks on the island. The hops I finally convinced my mom to put in are looking great! Now if only I ever brewed any more and could use them... I meant to grab a bunch and add them to any lackluster/non-fresh beers I may have in the fridge!
But I forgot to pick them.



Anyway, I finally grabbed a can of Fresh Outta Portland. Even almost a month out, it's still hitting real nice. Top tier of the FH brews I've had this season. Might even be my favourite so far. If not, it's close.

 

Had a FH Slow Riff, from Varietal, last night at Community Pint.

 

We've been trying to hold back some cases/kegs from each FH batch so they can be around for a little longer. Good chance you'll be able to find it here or at one of the other locations.

 

I was thinking about this earlier in the thread, re: the conversations about what styles do and don't express FH character well. The more I think about it, the more I feel like a cold IPA may actually be the ideal vessel for expressing FH characteristics, given the focus of the style. So I'll be curious to hear your thoughts on their example!!

Live Oak does good stuff. I'm a little late to this party, but as noted, their hefe is probably the best domestic hefe around, and they do other german styles quite well too. I think I read that you were already out of Austin, but another brewery/brew I remember quite enjoying when I lived there many years ago was the pecan porter from (512). This was long before the surge in popularity of heavily adjunct-ified brews, so it had a nice subtle touch to it that just married with the dark malts perfectly. Hopefully they haven't messed it up in pursuit of what's hot now.

Which can be pretty good in their own right! I remember quite enjoying The Cryo from Everybody's when I first had it! But that's not fresh hops. I've noticed a couple of 'FH' brews even up here this year that have included cryo pellets (without even getting into the whole shatter technique question), and it really causes me to look askance at those brews (and admittedly a little bit at the brewery, as dumb and unfair as that is), that even in the heart of the source, we've still got folks muddying the waters (and yes, I realize this is probably an attempt to just augment the characteristics we all love about this season, not to fake anything, it just sits a little awkwardly in my mind-gullet).

I have no doubt they made plenty and that it'll see more availability around town before long, but for anyone who happens to find themselves in the area and is looking, the Co-op up in MV had a little FH display that had a fair amount of F2F (as well as Pert Near, a few stragglers of Fresh Outta Portland [see my post above], a FH brew from Dru Bru, and one other that I'll have to check the fridge to remind myself what it was [it was Abominable])

 

FH Breakside IPA w/Chinook will be on tap at Milwaukie today! Also, we're having an event with all of our FH beers thus far at Loyal Legion this evening. I will most likely be there, hope to see some of you.

 

Anyone planning to hit the Sisters Fresh Hop Fest (9/24) or Fresh Hops on the Pond at Bend Brewing (9/30)? Neither of these is on the level of Yakima or Hood River but they’re great smaller-scale events.

I’m running a fresh hop competition tomorrow night, stoked to get over 100 fresh hop entries in our first year. We’ve got breweries from as far away as New Jersey competing against the locals!