Ah, the hop — the emerald pinecone of temptation, the perfumed cone of chaos — Humulus lupulus herself, equal parts botanical seductress and brewer’s fever dream. Once she was the silent partner, quietly lending bitterness and balance to barley’s sweet excesses. Now? She’s the headliner, baby — strutting across labels like a rock god mid-solo, her name shouted from can art like gospel: Citra! Galaxy! Simcoe! Amarillo! Each with its own tone and tempo — mango riff, pine crunch, passionfruit shriek, lemony high note — each bending your palate into a slow, hoppy crescendo.
And just like those guitar gods of legend, the brewers who craft single-hop beers are showing off their fretwork — building entire symphonies from one green muse, wringing complexity from a single cone the way Hendrix teased fire from six strings. So today, Peaks & Pints plugs in the amp and pours the pints: Craft Beer Crosscut 11.8.19: Flight of Single Hops and Guitar Solos. Because the best solos — and the best hops — don’t just make the song. They make you forget the rest of the world even exists.
Craft Beer Crosscut 11.8.19: Flight of Single Hops and Guitar Solos
pFriem Ariana Single Hop Pale
6% ABV
Bred at the Hüll Hop Research Center, Ariana is a cross between Herkules and a wild male hop. Ariana is a newer German hop variety with notes of blackberries, blackcurrant, peach, pear, and tropical fruits. Ariana is said to add quite a bit of depth and variety dependent on the style of beer brewed, quantity used and timing of the addition of the hops. pFriem Family Brewers continues with their single hop pale ale series introducing Ariana as their fall release.
FreeThought Phosphorescent
5.5% ABV
Ryan Jorgenson and Ben Clayton began homebrewing together nearly a decade ago after both had moved from California to Brooklyn. The duo opened FreeThought Brewing, experimenting with landrace and heritage grains in their grist, as well as developing their own mixed cultures of wild yeast and souring bacteria. Their Phosphorescent hazy pale ale is brewed with Maris Otter, raw and malted wheat, light Munich malt and flaked oats, then hopped with Galaxy. It drinks like a fluffy, mango milkshake with notes of papaya, peach, vanilla, juniper and purple kush. The grist adds structure and undertones of agave and banana bread.
FreeThought Lucid
6% ABV
Lucid is an unfiltered IPA double dry hopped with Amarillo flowers, pellets and lupulin powder. Brewed with pilsner malt, raw and malted wheat, flaked and malted oats, and light Munich malt, this New England-style IPA is crisp and focused with aromas of sliced baguette and basil. Canary melon, sea salt and sassafras arise on the palate. Emphatic carbonation carries a finish reminiscent of watermelon rind.
Deschutes Chasin’ Freshies
6% ABV, 55 IBU
Inspired by Deschutes Brewery‘s co-owner’s eternal search for fresh powder on the mountain or perfect dirt on the trails, Chasin’ Freshies captures hops in their purest form direct from the field. The hops for Chasin’ Freshies change year to year and are hand selected in the hop fields alongside the farmers. This year this clean, crisp fresh hop IPA captures the candied orange, pine and tropical notes from fresh Simcoe hops.
Revision Citra Slam
6.5% ABV, 50 IBU
Revision Brewing has brewed another West Coast IPA, this time hopped exclusively with the one and only Citra hop. Tropically sweet hop flavors and aromas bring to mind ripe tangerine with an edge of passionfruit.
