Fresh hop beer season is in full swing, a wonderful time for ales with serious aromatic and bitter components. In the hop-heavy Pacific Northwest, the Best of Craft Beer Awards just wrapped, awarding some of the early harvest producers in the region. Christmas for the craft beer enthusiast, fresh hop season coincides with harvest season and some truly exceptional beers.
The competition celebrates the style, which involves rushing just-picked hops to breweries to stuff them into vats (instead of drying them first). The result is a lively beer, so often an IPA, just busting with character. Increasingly, brewers are adding fresh hops to other styles, from pilsners to red ales and even barrel-aged beers.
This year’s winners included Sun River Brewing Company and its Bondi Fresh Hop Strata beer. The gold in the fresh hop hazy category went to Reuben’s of Seattle and the Fresh Hop Party Float beer. Everybody’s Brewing from the Columbia River Gorge also earned a gold with its Head Stash release. In the fresh hop other styles department, Portland’s renowned Breakside Brewery took home top prize with the Fresh Hop Crystal Double Wanderlust.
The Craft Beer Awards took place in Bend on September 21st. Judging is done blind but a table of analysts. What’s cool about the competition and style is that it champions the farmers as much or more as the producers. Much like a winemaker depends on great vineyard sites, brewers rely on excellent hop farms stewarded by knowledgeable growers.
Part one of the contest has come and gone but there will be a late harvest edition taking place on October 6th at Washington state’s esteemed Single Hill Brewing. That means lots more fresh hop beers to enjoy during early autumn.
