For the seventh consecutive September, Peaks & Pints is throwing a month-long autumn beer party marrying two popular seasonal beer styles on draft — fresh hop beers and Oktoberfest lagers — this year naming it, “Fresh Hoptoberfest VII Days A Week.” In September 2017, in keeping with our multi-rooted sensibilities, Peaks & Pints hosted The Hunt For Fresh Hoptoberfest, tapping fresh hop and Oktoberfest beers daily. Crowds discovered bright, fresh-hop beers, just hours from field to kettle and mere days from the fermenter to their glass AND drank to their health with clean, hearty Oktoberfest-style lagers from Germany and nearby. Peaks & Pints hosted Son of Fresh Hoptoberfest in 2018, followed by Rise of Fresh Hoptoberfest in 2019, Behind Fresh Hoptoberfest in 2020, Bride of Fresh Hoptoberfest in 2021, and last year’s Fresh Hoptobefest For Days. Today, Peaks & Pints suggests you stop by and enjoy day 14 with an in-house flight of fresh hops and Oktoberfest lagers that we call Peaks and Pints Beer Flight: Fresh Hoptoberfest Day 14.
Peaks and Pints Beer Flight: Fresh Hoptoberfest Day 14
Dwinell Fresh Hop Bumper Crop Amarillo Saison
3.5% ABV, can
Since opening in August 2017, Dwinell Country Ales has been named one of the “The Six Best Washington Breweries Outside Seattle” by The Stranger, as well as “Top Three Small Breweries” in the country by beer writer Jeff Alworth for Craft Beer & Brewing magazine. Located in downtown Goldendale, Washington, Dwinell founder Justin Leigh not only brews Belgian style farmhouse ales, but also mixed-culture beers, delicately hopped rustic ales, barrel-aged “country ales” aged in barrels from nearby wineries in the Columbia River and Yakima Valleys, natural wine, and French style ciders. His Fresh Hop Bumper Crop Amarillo Saison is a blended oak-aged saison brewed with freshly picked whole cone Amarillo hops from Virgil Gamache farms.
Reuben’s Fresh Hop Hazealicious
6% ABV, draft – can in cooler
Using freshly picked Strata hops from the Yakima Valley, Reuben’s Brews brewed another special version of Hazealicious, their year-round hazy IPA. Fresh Hop Hazealicious earned a bronze medal in the Fresh Hop category at the 2020 Great American Beer Festival. With a malt bill of Pilsner, white wheat, Honey, and Pale, plus fresh Strata, Comet and Citra hops, this hazy IPA sports a hoppy punch with notes of grapefruit and a drier finish.
Black Raven Cryo Fresh Hop 2023 Azacca
6% ABV, draft can in cooler
“This IPA is made using Washington Grown Azacca Cryo Fresh Hops,” states Black Raven Brewing Cryo Fresh Hop 2023 Azacca hype. “These hops were frozen in carbonite on Tatooine and shipped directly to our brewhouse. Okay, not quite with the last part, but Cryo fresh hops are raw, un-kilned, flash frozen whole cone hops produced in a state-of-the-art facility, retaining the delicate nuances of un-kilned hops by protecting cell wall and lupulin gland integrity. Super Science Stuff!” Expect a fresh, dank, and weedy delight.
Zoiglhaus Oktoberfresh 2023
5.5% ABV, draft
Here’s a beer that fits perfectly with our annual Fresh Hoptoberfest celebration — a fresh hop Oktoberfest lager, Zoiglhaus Oktoberfresh 2023. Portland’s Zoiglhaus combines malts and yeast from Germany with freshly picked Pacific Northwest hops. The winner of a gold medal at the Oregon Beer Awards in the Other Fresh Hop Beers category, Oktoberfresh pours a hazy light amber with generous foam. It has aromas of bread dough, malted grains, and caramel, followed by mild grains and sweet dough with a floral hop finish.
Maritime Pacific Windfest
6.5% ABV, draft
Introduced by Spaten in 1841, and officially dubbed “Oktoberfestbier” in 1872, Märzen (pronounced maer-zen) is a medium-body amber lager exhibiting a good deal of sweet maltiness and healthy hops. Slightly stronger than most pale lagers, typically in the 5–6.5 percent alcohol by volume range, Märzen derives its name from the German word for March, März, the month when these beers are brewed. Before refrigeration, brewers cease brewing operations on April 24 because the summer heat would spoil the beer. Hence, Märzen was brewed in March, stored all summer long and then tapped by the mayor at noon on the opening Saturday of Oktoberfest, which is Saturday, Sept. 16. Maritime Pacific Brewing’s Märzen, Windfest, is brewed with Saaz and Vanguard hops adding light floral hops to a rich, malty lager.
LINK: Peaks & Pints beer and cider cooler inventory