Fresh hops are brewed during a very brief window of the year when hops are being harvested. It’s the one time brewers can use hops directly after they’re picked from the vine and before they are processed in any way; normally hops are dried and then pelletized. During fresh hop season, the hop cones go straight from the vine to the beer in a matter of hours. The result is a wonderfully aromatic, fresh-tasting creation. But fresh hop beer isn’t easy being green. The brewhouse fermenter sits empty waiting for the phone call. It’s an eternity if there’s only three fermenters. After the hop farm gives the green thumbs up, a few brewers hit the road while the others begin the brewing process. At the farm, the brewers fill huge bags full of the wonderful smelling fresh hop cones knowing that they need to arrive back at the brewery before the boil. A new round of fresh hop beers has arrived at Peaks & Pints. Therefore, we present another in-house flight of fresh hop beers — this time naming it Peaks and Pints Beer Flight: Freshest Fresh Hops.
Peaks and Pints Beer Flight: Freshest Fresh Hops
Fremont Field to Ferment Fresh Hop Pale Ale: Centennial
6% ABV
Fremont Brewing‘s “Field to Ferment” beer series and its fresh-hop brew from Cowiche Canyon. Brewed with fresh Centennial hops, plus a Centennial, Centennial Cryo, and Simcoe dry hop on a bed of 2-Row Pale, Munich malt, White Wheat, and Acidulated Malt. On the nose, expect pine with dank resinous notes, along with citrus and tropical fruit, fresh cut grass, florals, and slight bubblegum, followed by light sweetness and moderate bitterness with gentle lingering bitterness in medium body that is mildly mouthwatering.
Bale Breaker Homegrown Fresh Hop IPA
6% ABV
In Moxee, Washington, September means harvest. In Bale Breaker Brewing’s fourth season as barley farmers and 91 years after the first hops were planted on their family farm, Bale Breaker releases Homegrown Fresh Hop IPA featuring their homegrown fresh Simcoe, Simcoe, Mosaic and HBC 630 hops and barley. It’s balanced and smooth with notes of grapefruit, apricot, berry, and resin.
Matchless Sabro Fresh
6.4% ABV
In 2018, the Hop Breeding Company, or HBC, released Sabro, a unique cross pollination of a female neomexicanus hop. It’s an aroma hop that is notable for its complexity of fruity and citrus flavors. It imparts distinct tangerine, coconut, tropical fruit, and stone fruit aromas, with hints of cedar, mint, and cream. Matchless Brewing layers 600 pounds of fresh Sabro hops on a canvas of Pilsner, Malted and Flaked White Wheat to create notes of coconut cream, citrus and other tropical hues.
Fort George Fresh IPA
6.4% ABV
Fresh IPA was the first fresh hop beer Fort George Brewery ever packaged. This year, they loaded up the hop back with 500 pounds of fresh Centennial hops from Crosby Farm. With bright, classic piney Centennial and a little zesty Simcoe, Fresh IPA offers green grass, pine, citrus notes with a crisp and clean finish.
Breakside Fresh Wanderlust: Mosaic
6.5% ABV
Breakside Brewery’s year-round IPA, Wanderlust, is arguably the top fan favorite for dank/savory and fruity hop fans striking a balance between the best of the northwest flavors. The fresh hop variety is possibly the most prevalent hop today in modern IPAs, Mosaic is known for versatility, capable of contributing bitterness and flavor and aroma as well as onion/garlic funk and fruity berry character that can appear as a blueberry note. This fresh hop version leans on the berry, pine, and dank side of Mosaic.
LINK: Peaks & Pints beer and cider cooler inventory
