Review: Deschutes Brewery’s Fresh Hop Tasting

Yes, I’m way behind on posting this review, considering the Brewery‘s Tasting was back on October 18th! Too much stuff going on… anyway, the Fresh Hop Tasting was a beer event and showcase for seven (!) fresh hop beers that were all brewed by Deschutes. That’s pretty impressive for one … Continue reading

More about the upcoming Fresh Hop Tastivals

I posted last month about this year’s Fresh Hop Tastivals, and the Hood River one took place on the 4th, last weekend. The next two are coming up the 18th and the 25th, in Portland and Eugene, respectively. Ironically, on the 18th I’ll be attending Deschutes Brewery‘s Fresh Hop Beer … Continue reading

Fresh Hop Tastivals

It’s that harvest time of year again, when the fresh hop beers are beginning to show up, and the Oregon Brewers Guild is teaming up with Oregon Bounty again to bring us the Fresh Hop Beer "Tastivals." I guess they must have been a hit last year, because this time … Continue reading

Butte Creek Fresh Hop Organic IPA

Butte Creek Fresh Hop Organic IPA

The good folks at Butte Creek Brewing (thanks Scott) were kind enough to send me a bottle of their Fresh Hop Organic IPA (the full name is "Fresh Hop Organic Sustainable Harvest India Pale Ale"… quite a mouthful!), which I opened tonight. It’s one of the only fresh hop beers … Continue reading

Fresh Hops Week: The bottled list

Earlier in the week I was ruminating on the overall number of fresh hop beers out there, but the conclusion is that it’s really a moving target: many (most) are highly seasonal, draft-only batches (often one-offs) usually only available on location. So I did deeper research, looking for breweries that … Continue reading

Fresh Hops Week: Three more reviews

The problem with reviewing fresh hop beers is that they’re so regional; the only one I’ve thus far been able to get in the bottle is (local) Hop Trip, and unless I’m willing to travel (which obviously isn’t convenient), the only other ones available to me are ultra-local brews—which, unless … Continue reading

Fresh Hops Week: Fresh Hop Tastival

I’d previously mentioned (briefly) a bit about the Fresh Hop Beer Tastival coming here to Bend at the end of the month, but I hadn’t expanded upon it. Essentially, it’s a traveling beer festival, dedicated to fresh hop beers from Oregon brewers, and it’s been hitting a different city each … Continue reading

Fresh Hops Week: Just how many are there?

How many fresh/wet hop beers are out there? That’s what I’m wondering. One the one hand, it’s a trend still in its infancy (or at least toddler years), so there’s a finite number of fresh hop beers floating around out there; on the other hand, it seems like every time … Continue reading

Fresh Hops Week: Hop Trip

Fresh Hops Week: Hop Trip

Ah, Hop Trip, Deschutes Brewery‘s flagship fresh hop ale. My third year reviewing it, and (I think) the third year it’s been brewed—this makes it especially interesting because I can track how it has evolved over time. The first year (2005) it was strongly hopped and green and potent—not unlike … Continue reading

Fresh Hops Week: On the origins thereof

Even though the fresh hop craze has been percolating nicely across the (American) brewing scene, it has much of its origins right here in the Pacific Northwest. With Bert Grant, more specifically, according to Jeff: In the mid-90s, he decided to take advantage of the vast wealth of hops that … Continue reading