UPS arrived today with a box from Deschutes Brewery. Since I’d just received Jubelale less than a month ago, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I suppose it’s obvious in retrospect.

Yes, it’s fresh hop season and Deschutes just brewed Hop Trip some three weeks ago; this is possibly as fresh as it gets from a commercial brewery. I’ll be opening this one real soon just because fresh hop beers aren’t meant to be aged and I’m very curious to taste a just-bottled version.

But wait! The box wasn’t empty yet; was it going to be another bottle of Hop Trip? Puzzled, I dug into the styrofoam peanuts and pulled out…

…and, as I twittered, nearly soiled myself. You could have knocked me over with a feather; I had no idea The Abyss was ready to be sent out this early. With an official November release coming up, I would have expected a late October showing of this, if anything. So I don’t really know what to say, except “Wow.”

Looking at them both together, a thought occurred to me: making a Black and Tan out of these two beers. Fresh hop ale with an Imperial Stout? Egads.