More lightning round fresh hop reviews for you. Yes, these are going to keep coming for a bit!

Bend Brewing Company – Fresh Hop Grove Pale Ale

The second of BBC’s fresh hop ales this year is a fresh version of its new Grove Pale Ale, brewed for the Waypoint location. Here’s the blurb about this beer from the press release the brewery sent out last month:

New for the 2021 harvest is Fresh Hop Grove Pale featuring 300 lbs of fresh Strata from Crosby Hops. Fresh Hop Grove Pale is a fresh hop version of the house beer for BBC’s new Waypoint location in Bend’s Northwest Crossing neighborhood.

It’s 5.8% ABV with 40 IBUs, and like Fresh Trop, it was packaged on September 17, I drank it the next day on September 18. My notes:

Honey orange, unfiltered, white head. Aroma is sweaty and fruity, touch of dank; fruit is a bit tropical, a bit stone fruit, some gummi candy. Softer, mellower flavor than the Fresh Trop (review here), with notes of fresh radish greens and oak or maple leaves. Lightly bitter with some berry and aloe vera and a nuttiness. Good malts, and it’s decent overall, not as prominently “fresh” as BBC’s other (and to be fair I haven’t had the regular Grove Pale to compare to this).

Zoiglhaus Brewing – Fresh Hop Kölsch

Technically I guess this is named Fresh Hop Zoigl-Kölsch but just it simply says “Kölsch” on the can label. It was brewed with fresh Tettnanger hops, which is a welcome diversion from the usual popular varieties (Centennial, Strata, etc.). The Untappd description says:

Brewed just like in Cologne with all-German ingredients, then fermented slow and cool with an authentic Kölsch yeast strain brought back from brewer/owner Alan Taylor’s studies in Germany. Crisp and lightly fruity- a year-round sessionable German-style ale. 4.9% ABV / 20 IBU

Fresh Hop Zoigl-Kölsch is the standard base beer but with 75 lbs of fresh, local Tettnanger hops added in the whirlpool. Only 50 cases canned! 16oz cans, 4-packs and draft available only at the brewery!

The cans were packaged on August 24, I drank it September 19. My review:

Pale yellow, crisp white head. Bright floral aroma note with green peppercorn and… corn silk? Corn husk? Subtle and appetizing graininess too. Mellow and grassy flavors with some red clover and a delicate floral spiciness like some kind of an edible flower—bachelor’s buttons, or maybe squash blossoms. Really nice and balanced with excellent malts.

McMenamins – Thundercone Fresh Hop Pale Ale

Every year the McMenamins brewers engage in the “running of the brewers” to collect the fresh hops for the annual brewing and release of Thundercone; they brew local versions at the various breweries, and the canned release is brewed and packaged at the Edgefield in Troutdale. Here’s the description on this year’s edition:

Fresh Cascade Hops from the fields of Oregon’s Sodbuster Farms are rushed to McMenamins breweries in Oregon and Washington, where each batch of Thundercone is brewed within hours of harvest. Our 12th year of this one-of-a-kind brew has resulted in a distinct fresh-hop greenness with tropical notes. You may think you’re dreaming, but this beer is in reality a short-lived dream come true.

I haven’t tried the local Old St. Francis School (draft) version, but I did get cans of Thundercone to drink at home. It’s 6.19% ABV with 16 IBUs, and the first fresh Cascade hops I had this year. Canned on September 8, I drank it on September 19. Notes:

Light copper color, glowy, white head. Mellow, fresh aroma of fresh-cut flowers and orange marmalade, but overall it’s not terribly pungent. Flavor goes into orange zest and nettles, nicely bitter with a spritz of citrus oil. It’s got some earthiness, “forest floor compost” (duff), a touch of caramel malt to balance it out. Would love to try some draft versions from the Old St. Francis School and others to compare.