Back at it with more reviews of the various fresh hop beers I’ve had this year.

Single Hill Brewing with Breakside Brewery – On the Road Again Fresh Hop IPA

Single Hill is based out of Yakima and this collaboration fresh hop beer with Breakside Brewery employs a number of “fresh” hops, but only one is unkilned, fresh-picked fresh, and that’s Strata. The rest are freshly processed (dried, pelletized, etc.) from this season—so while I’m only counting the Strata as the “fresh” component, it’s a true harvest beer with focusing on this year’s ingredients.

The description from Untappd says:

This IPA features wet Goschie Farms Strata, Sodbuster Farms Simcoe, and Haas Yakima Golding Farm Sabro, with Roy Farms Harvest Fresh Strata pellets, and Van Horn Farms Cascade & Wenas Hop Company Centennial Fresh AF pellets.

It’s 6.6% ABV, and my notes are as follows:

Appearance: Straw yellow, hazy, moderately choppy white head.

Smell: Hoppy nose, but not super fragrant and more of a “regular” hazy hop character. Some fruitiness that goes a little green melon.

Taste: Green papaya, garden greens, a bit of herbal spiciness, a bit of cattiness. There’s some muddling of flavors here, with so many hops going on, that no one particular character comes through… it’s a big mix of some spicy herbs, fresh veg, melon skin/rind, maybe tobacco, all blended up.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with a bit of a prickly presence.

Overall: It’s good but a bit confusing is probably the easiest way to describe it, where no particular hop stands out.

Bend Brewing – Fresh Trop Fresh Hop IPA

This one is a returning favorite, the fresh hop version of Bend Brewing’s Tropic Pines IPA, using fresh Simcoe hops and clocking in at 6.5% ABV with 65 IBUs. I don’t have much more info behind it aside from what I wrote last year.

Appearance: Rich golden color, unfiltered, good off-white head.

Smell: Fruity nose with caramelized pineapple and bruleed grapefruit, and a fresh “green” note that’s a hint catty, with some chlorophyll and herbs.

Taste: Spicy, fresh minty profile with a big bitter herbal character. Pineapple, papaya, grapefruit rind. The minty character is mellow and not too big or menthol-like, but makes me think of fresh mint greens. Solid and it keeps me sipping.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied, with good herbal-minty finish.

Overall: I always enjoy BBC’s fresh hop beers and this one is no exception.

StormBreaker Brewing – Fresh Hop Ella Rose Double Dry Hopped Hazy

StormBreaker might be the fresh hop release champion this year, with more than a dozen fresh hop beers available in cans and on tap. Here’s the description from The New School:

Named after baby Ella Rose, born August 30th 2017, brewed with her namesake hop, Ella. This Hazy IPA is double dry hopped with two 32 lbs hop additions, with rose petals in the kettle for delicate floral aromas that compliment the punchy flavors of grapefruit with aromas of citrus, tropical and dark fruit. The fresh hop version will be a showcase for the brand new Oregon developed variety Luminosa from Indie Hops.

It’s a concept beer with the rose petals for sure, and has 6.13% alcohol by volume with 50 IBUs. The Luminosa hops are supposed to be the star, but the label also lists Ella, Lotus, Lorien, and Amarillo hops.

Appearance: Tan/brownish-orange, very hazy, kind of unattractive to be honest. White head is loose.

Smell: Big floral nose, with a big bright fruit note, like really ripe nectarines or cherries. Anything else is muted and kind of muddled.

Taste: A bit vegetal, with a twiggy/woody note that goes into a peach pit bitterness that’s a bit harsh. I get a fruit character at the back but it just goes almost astringent. There’s too much going on for the fresh Luminosa hops to really stand out.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied, muddled and slightly astringent.

Overall: In my opinion it doesn’t really work.