Wet Hoptoberfest

Sage Vegan is L.A.’s connection to fresh / wet hops and this year they are having a hoppy event.

Here is the the info: “Wet Hop beers are made only once a year right around harvest time. It’s when you pluck the hops right off the bine and brew with them 24 hours later. It’s as fresh as you can get for beer and lends a grassy, bright flavor to the beers. This year we decided to celebrate all 8 amazing breweries around town that made wet hop beers with hops from our 18 acre regenerative organic farm in Fillmore, CA. Many of the breweries came out with staff and helped harvest the very ingredient they used the next day. In an age of everyone being so disconnected from their food and beverage this was truly a special experience for all of us involved.”

The event will at the Old Town Pasadena courtyard at One Colorado and $25 will get you a mini taster mug and unlimited pours of the beers.”

Featured Canned Beer Review – Wet Hop from Fremont Brewing

Fremont Brewing has been absent from my tasting for a long, long while but thanks to the delivery site Tavour, I got to sample a couple fresh hop ales from their Field to Ferment series.
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Strong with the cat pee this one is. Big aroma of hearty Simcoe in this fresh hop beer. This is really bright and hop filled. Pretty much what you would expect from a fresh beer. This has a solid bite to it that really hits the palate. I think it beats out the Centennial version which is has a little less zest to it.

I am still a little confused as to why they have a website to distinguish which hop varietal you have when they could put that info on a label and make it easier for the consumer. Instead they have a number on the cans and colored coded bottle caps on the bombers which you then figure out yourself.

That aside, I am glad that I got to try this hoppy beer from Seattle.

Review – Northern Hemisphere Harvest Wet Hop IPA

The name tells you all you need to know.  Which is why it is so long.  This is the 4th of a 5 beer series from Sierra Nevada.  This and the Wild Hop beer being the ones that caught my attention.

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What I liked about the Wet Hop is the simplicity of the ingredients:

  • Bittering Hops Wet Centennial
  • Finishing Hops Wet Cascade, Centennial

That is it.  And boy does it impart flavor.  This IPA is half danky earth and the other half is straight up Orange juice.  It really struck me at first the power of the flavors.  The aroma is reminiscent to me of orange juice that is sitting on the table with breakfast.  I know it sounds weird but that is what was triggered in my mind.

This is a super bitter beer too.  From first sip to aftertaste, there is a vegetal earthiness that just sticks to the palate and will not let go.  This from a beer that was bottled at the end of September.  I can’t imagine the IBU punch on a fresh bottle!  But as much as it is bitter that juice note doesn’t give up either.  I would probably call this a Double IPA taste wise even though the ABV is only at 6.7%

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Co-Op Hop

from The Oregonian and Fort George Brewing…
The Fort George Brewery and Public House calls out to all who have hops growing in their yards & gardens, on fences, barns or houses and would love to see those hops get made into beer. Our second annual Co-Hoperative Ale wet-hopped beer will be made this Friday, so we need folks to pick and drop off their hop-vines Thursday, September 3rd.

We will have a pack of folks ready to sticky their fingers in a hop-stripping frenzy, collecting untold varieties of hops to be used for Friday’s brew. Those who have hops to contribute will be treated to some of the fruits of their agricultural prowess when the beer is ready. Call the brewery at (503) 325-7468 with any questions.