Fresh hop season is a perk you get for living in the Pacific Northwest, with farm-fresh, bright-green hops throwing off beautifully idiosyncratic farm-y notes in beer made just a car ride from where the hops are grown. It’s more than just another feel-good “buy local” movement — with the yearly harvest comes a torrent of fresh-hop beers made from hops are at their peak of freshness, bursting with aroma from rhizome to rhizome. Why the time-sensitive frenzy? For something so associated with brash bitterness, hops are surprisingly delicate — breaking down almost as soon as they’re harvested. The Northwest leads the world in the production of these tasty seasonals, and the alert drinker can try dozens of them at Peaks & Pints — or the five we picked today for our beer flight, Peaks and Pints Beer Flight: Fresh Hop Friday 9.27.24.

Peaks and Pints Beer Flight: Fresh Hop Friday 9.27.24

Stoup Citra Fresh Hop Fiend Italian Pils

5.5% ABV

Stoup Brewing’s second beer in our 2024 Fresh Hop Fiend series, crisp and refreshing Citra Fresh Hop Fiend Italian Pils is packed with 100 pounds per batch of HBC Citra fresh hops from Sauve & Son Farms in Mabton, Washington. Citra cold side additions bring aromas of citrus and tropical fruit.

Little Beast Little Green Men

6.3% ABV

Little Beast Brewing brewed their Little Green Men fresh hop hazy IPA with Pilsner malt and freshly picked Azacca hops from Goschie Farms for a blast of tropical fruit, hints of pine and spice, and a soft and smooth body.

Kulshan Strata Fresh Hop

6.5% ABV

Kulshan Brewing brewed their fresh hop IPA with 700 pounds of Strata hops from Roy Farms in the Yakima Valley. It brings bold tropical fruit flavors complemented by subtle peach and berry notes, with a hint of dank cannabis aroma.

Bale Breaker Green Rush Fresh Hop IPA

6.9% ABV

Every September brings the Green Rush: the annual influx of brewers and beer lovers to the Yakima Valley to search out the best fresh hops. Bale Breaker Brewing has a front row seat on their family hop farm, and this year, they have, once again, partnered with the legendary Russian River Brewing Company to create a fresh hop IPA — this year a fresh hop West Coast IPA featuring freshly picked homegrown Simcoe hops for vibrant aromas of grapefruit, peach, mango, and resin.

Aslan Charlie Foxtrot Fresh Hop

6.9% ABV

Aslan Brewing brewed their fresh hop IPA Charlie Foxtrot with a mixture of organic Cascade, Chinook, Centennial, Crystal, and Columbus fresh hops grown at their farm 9 miles away from the Bellingham brewery. Charlie Foxtrot Fresh Hop has a balanced bready, malt backbone that helps carry the hop flavors of citrus, pineapple, pepper, and pine.

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