To craft a fresh hop tour de force, Bale Breaker Brewing Company and Crux Fermentation Project teamed up to simultaneously harvest fresh hops from two valleys in two states on the same morning, combining them into each other’s kettle that very afternoon. One rooster woke Team Bale Breaker summoning them to load two trucks of Simcoe hops from neighboring fields with one truck returning to their Moxie, Washington brewery while the other truck raced toward Crux in Bend, Oregon. The other rooster roused Team Crux to load up two trucks full of fresh Mosaic hops straight outta the Willamette Valley to blaze back to the same two breweries. The result is Way Two Fresh, a delicious imperial IPA that is described as “double the trouble and downright delicious.” How delicious, you ask? Find out for yourself by tasting both side-by-side today in Peaks and Pints’ Craft Beer Crosscut 10.10.18: A Flight of Way Two Fresh. The other three 5-ounce taster glasses in the beer flight will include other craft beer from the two breweries.

Crux Dr. Jack Fresh Hop IPA

6.9% ABV, 50 IBU

Named for hop pioneer Dr. Jack Horner – creator of the Cascade hop — this timely IPA features freshly harvested Oregon-grown Cascade hops, added to the kettle the very same day they’re picked in order to maximize all the floral and citrusy goodness this legendary hop has to offer. The nose is earthy light floral hops with some light caramel malt. Taste is more of the earthy grassy hops with some herbal notes and rich malt.

Bale Breaker Way Two Fresh

8.5% ABV, 65 IBU

As stated above, Crux Fermentation Project and Bale Breaker Brewing simultaneously harvested Mosaic and Simcoe hops from the Willamette and Yakima valleys, then combined them into each other’s brew facilities. Each outfit made their own version of Way Two Fresh; Peaks and Pints scored Bale Breaker’s version first with its dank, hoppy nose, full body and rich, bitter, oily hops.

Crux Way Two Fresh

8.5% ABV, 65 IBU

Have you heard? Crux Fermentation Project and Bale Breaker Brewing simultaneously harvested Mosaic and Simcoe hops from the Willamette and Yakima valleys, then combined them into each other’s brew facilities. Each outfit is making their own version of Way Two Fresh. Crux’s double IPA version offers a tasty interplay of dank pine and fruitiness. Definite malt sweetness here — more so than Bale Breaker — but nicely balanced for a double.

Bale Breaker Citra Slicker Wet Hop IPA

6.2% ABV, 70 IBU

This is the fourth release of Bale Breaker’s award-winning Citra Slicker, a collaboration with Cloudburst Brewing. Heavily dry-hopped yet light in color and body, this beer is all about these fresh, farm-grown Citra hops. Expect all the citrus with hoppy bitterness and a clean finish.

Bale Breaker Piled High Fresh Hop Ale

8.2% ABV, 100 IBU

Piled High Imperial Fresh Hop Ale makes its return appearance after six previous harvests as Bale Breaker’s signature fresh hop beer — it won Best Imperial IPA at the 2017 Fresh Hop Ale Festival in Yakima. Piled High might be one of the freshest fresh hop ales as it takes just four minutes to get these wet Simcoe hops handpicked from the fields surrounding Bale Breaker, out of the picking machine and into the brew kettle. This recipe uses exclusively fresh hops, from bittering to “wet” hopping, and 23 pounds of fresh hops per barrel. Aroma and taste are sweet tropical fruits with add flavors of pine and herbal bitterness. Piled High finishes with a strong, piney bitterness.