Pacific Northwest hops are harvested each year from late August through September, which means beers brewed with the freshest hops available, known also as wet-hopped beers, arrive this month. What are fresh hop beers? Simply put, they’re brews made with hops that are pulled off the bine and go straight into the kettle. The vast majority of the hops used by U.S. breweries are cultivated in Oregon and Washington. For the most part, these hops are dried and processed before being sold to professional and amateur brewers, which affects the flavor punch. With fresh hops, drinkers can expect more hoppiness, more aroma and more flavor — kind of like cooking with fresh herbs and spices instead of something that’s been on the shelf for a while. Fresh-hopped beers are best consumed ASAP; let’s drink five today as part of our Fresh Hoptoberfest VII Days A Week. Stop by Peaks and Pints and enjoy Peaks and Pints Beer Flight: Fresh Hops.
Peaks and Pints Beer Flight: Fresh Hops
Breakside Fresh Rainbows Fresh Unicorns
5.5% ABV
Breakside Brewery’s year-round session Rainbows and Unicorns IPA receives the fresh hop treatment with newly developed Luminosa hops from Coleman Farms, a sixth-generation family farm cultivating more than 7,500 acres of hops, hazelnuts, seed crops, and vegetables in St. Paul, Oregon. Luminosa hops are bred by Portland-based Indie Hops, and offers punchy peach-mango lemonade, candied orange peel, boysenberry, papaya and guava notes that make you feel like sipping cocktails in the tropics.
Matchless Farm Harvest
5.8% ABV
Matchless Brewing brewed this year’s C.S.A. Farm Harvest pale ale exclusively with hops and malt from Washington state — fresh Centennial hop cones from CLS Farms, Yakima grown Centennial and Chinook hops, and Skagit Valley Malting’s Fritz Ale malt. Look for big green floral notes, melon, grass, and lemon-lime.
Level Fresh Hop Game On
6.5% ABV
Strata, formerly known as X-331, is an open pollinated German born Perle hop that Oregon State University’s hop-breeding program tweaked with Indie Hops. Strata expresses many of the oils associated with mango, oranges, and other fruits and herbs. Goshie Farms in the Willamette Valley also raises Strata, which is where Level Beer grabbed hundreds of pounds of fresh Strata for their Fresh Hop Game On IPA. Expect fresh herb taste and slight sweet finish.
Vice Erik Freshstrata
6.7% ABV
“Remember that one time when Moltar wanted to bring Erik Estrada on the show, but Space Ghost wouldn’t let it happen,” reminds Vice Beer from Vancouver, Washington. “That was awesome.” Their fresh hop hazy IPA, Erik Freshstrata, is brewed with fresh Strata hops for notes of floral and herbal notes, plus grapefruit and bitter citrus rind on the finish.
Fortside Fresh Cut
8% ABV
Fortside Brewing’s Fresh Cut is a fresh hopped hazy IPAbrewed with fresh Hallertauer and fresh Centennial hops, plus Citra and El Dorado. With a caramel base balance by the fresh hops, expect notes of juicy grapefruit and orange blossom.
LINK: Peaks & Pints beer and cider cooler inventory
