Fresh Hops Are Here Again
Fresh hops! Get your fresh hops! It’s that time of the year, the sun is sinking southward and the bines are heavy with juicy cones. The harvest window is short, and the hops are fragile. But before they are all dried and doled out for another year, a few lucky brewers can get their mitts on those oily little buggers.
Once again, the first beer into cans came from Ex Novo. They must have inside information on the harvest schedules, because I wasn’t even thinking about freshies when Fresh Hop Eliot showed up earlier this month. It was a great reminder how fresh hops are different from the usual dried varieties. This beer reeks of hops. Taking a whiff is like standing behind a long haired dude at a crowded concert. It’s skunky; it’s sweaty; it’s perfumy; it’s actually kind of nice.
That same week, Level Beer – that newer brewery out by the airport – combined two seasonal trends in their fresh-hopped Oktoberfest beer. Level combines the malty richness of Oktoberfest with an unexpected fruitiness. It’s got that tingly flavor I only find in fresh hops.
Crux’s first freshy has an odd name and brings out soem odd flavors. I’m not sure it was really fresh. None of that green freshness, lots and lots of fruit. And this is supposed to be made with fresh Centennials? It’s lacking the funky, dank flavors I was expecting. It tastes incredibly clean, with a lager-like finish. Odd.
And the hits kept coming when Baerlic brewing put out fresh green cans of their Punk Rock Time IPA. It’s got that fresh herb melody floating over a dank, oniony bassline. this is more what I expect from Centennial hops. But it was made with fresh Strata, so what do I know.
Little Beast took a different tack with their fresh hops, making a sour ale and added a ton of freshies. It tastes different too. It’s pungent at first, and then it gets funky. It’s intense in too many directions, really. A noble effort, if a little flawed in execution.
Occidental went and added fresh hops to their Pilsner. It’s got a nice balance. The malt flavor has depth and the hops add a little fresh citrus to the herb party.
Reuben’s Fresh Hop Crikey IPA tastes kind of old, and plasticy. Maybe it’s fresh upfront, but the back end is rough and bitter.
Every year, the folks at Lucky Lab invite the neighbors over for a hop picking party. They take down all the bines climbing their own arbors and those donated by others, and volunteers pick the hops. All those random hops are added a beer called the Mutt. This – thankfully? sadly? – is not that beer. If Reuben’s was a little rough, this is sand paper. I’m not into it.
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