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I was quite impressed by a pair of North Park Beer Co. IPAs at a Cellador festival last year, so when I saw that they had a Strata Hop beer, I plucked it off the shelf to try.
This DDH West Coast IPA (to give a full taxonomy) pours a bubbly dark yellow color. Getting a bright lemon aroma. A touch of tea as well. Bitterness is, at first, below median but as the carbonation dissipates it grows. Grassy notes dominate but I also get a bit of Concord grape as well.
Trademark Brewing in Long Beach will be starting a new series of beers in 2022, look for the name Doodle Pad. The first is a Strata hopped beer….
“Strata Broke The Camel’s Back Cold Pale Ale. Jam-packed with Strata, this smooth small-batch sipper oozes notes of strawberry jam and tropical fruit with a dry, but refreshing finish.”
Ambitious Ales has a footy themed West Coast DIPA ready, Keepie Uppie – brewed with Strata and Rakau hops.
“Showcasing hops from our two favorite farms, Keepie Uppie is layered with a dank and resinous aroma from Indie Hops Strata and then backed up with a medley of ripe tropical fruits and some nice tones of grapefruit from Free Style HopsRakau. Clean and bold, this is one you’re gonna want to try! “
Perfect to drink as you watch Fulham, Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth try to stay in the Premier League.
Strata, El Dorado and Citra hops are the trio powering this new IPA from AleSmith who is fresh off of celebrating an anniversary.
California doesn’t see the fresh hop bounty that Oregon and Washington does but the occasional glimmer appears. Just look for the spiderweb to get a Strata Fresh Hop Arachne from Ogopogo Brewing and Three Weavers.
Readers will know that I like, really like, The Rare Barrel and Strata Hops are gold to me, so, obviously this beer struck me.
“Thanks to a windfall of wet Strata hops, Space Jellies comes to life through one of the more unique processes that we employ at the brewery. Hundreds of pounds of whole-cone wet Strata hops were added directly to oak barrels where they were conditioned upon a unique mixed fermentation beer for nine months. Loaded with bright berry and melon-like aromas and boasting notes of juicy pineapple and watermelon.”
2021 (and 2020) has been the Year + of the Strata hop, so my choice is….
…a fancy bottle of The Frais from de Garde Brewing in Oregon.
Got to practice my cork removal skills. Pours a bright orange / yellow color. Brett wild funk is quite evident. That just opened the barn door smell. Tart punch of acidity. Fairly simple past that. Some barrel wood. There is a navel orange note underneath the barnyard that is quite pleasant.
Usually when I see astronomy or space themes on a beer label, I think Ecliptic Brewing but Brooklyn Brewery has gone hop pun with a new IPA (in 16oz cans naturally)…
…I have been highlighting beers with Strata hops because I have had a higher percentage of really good IPA’s with that hop as the focus. Hopefully this beer goes across the whole distribution footprint.
Los Angeles has been getting a bit of can-action from Washington State’s Fremont Brewing and the above is another to be on the possible lookout for due to one of the hops being used that I think will be talked about more in 2019. Strata hits some of the flavor points that are in demand including, “various tropical fruit notes, citrus notes and dank notes similar to that of cannabis.”