It's that time of year and many brewers are releasing their wet, or fresh hopped beers. Rather than using the typical dried hops, the hops are used in the brewing process fresh from the harvest. I'm quite fond of these beers and enjoy very much the stronger, "green" flavor imparted by the fresh hops. These are beers you definitely want to drink fresh as time will reduce the unique flavor imparted by the wet hops. Here are a couple of interesting videos about the process.
The folks at Sierra Nevada have a promotional video on their Harvest Ale. The video provides an informative look at what it takes to produce fresh hop beers. Some beautiful footage from the harvest fields is included as well. (Hat tip to slashfood.com.)
Great Divide Brewing Company of Denver was recently featured in a Denver Post article on their Fresh Hop Pale Ale. In the article, and accompanying video, the effort that goes into this annual beer is discussed. Chipper Dave at the Fermentedly Challenged blog reports that the Fresh Hop Pale Ale will be released on October 3.
The Sierra Nevada video is here.
The Great Divide video is here.
I'm looking forward to trying these beers. I'd say fresh hops is the way to go when you've got em!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've ever had a fresh hopped beer... at least, not knowingly. I'll keep an eye out for these. Any other good suggestions?
ReplyDeleteProbably the easiest ones to find locally are the Harvest series from Sierra Nevada. Keep an eye on your local retailer as these brews start showing up around now.
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