Tag: Wet hops

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Wet Hoppin’ in El Segundo

If anyone in L.A. would hold a wet hop fest, it would be El Segundo Brewing.  They are the lupulin pushers of the L.A. craft scene and last Saturday was no different.

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I started with the Simcoe Pale via Wet Hop after seeing that I could buy a bottle of Mayberry Wet Hop to-go.  And after seeing that Citra-Mongous was a big 9.0%.  Seemed like the sensible choice.  This was my first visit to the new taproom at ESBC.  The vibe is so much better due to the elbow room even on a busy event day.  A little breeze through the big door and the large L shaped bar made for a place where you could order up a taster tray and set it down and enjoy it.

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I had to go Citra next and it was worthy of the name.  Just a big hit of Citra and bitterness that lingered on and on (in a good way).  This is more of a sipper than even their Power Plant Triple IPA.  After that I chose to try their small beer IPA, Spark Plug.  Lo and behold, it was my favorite on the afternoon.  Light yellow and beautiful in the glass it still had a hop kick but was so easy drinking.  Since I was a fan of the Mellon Collie fruit IPA from year’s past, I thought about trying the blueberry Mayberry but my palate had been shot through so I took my Mayberry Wet Hop bottle for later and headed home.

But I will be back for a growler fill….

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From the Hop Fields of El Segundo

If you are bitter about the dearth of wet hop beers in California as compared to say, Portland then you won’t want to miss this hop driven event at El Segundo.
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Three different wet hop beers will be waiting visitors including:
Wet-Hopped Mayberry IPA with “200 pounds of Mosaic hops in the mash and kettle within 24 hours of picking to sexify this already amazing brew.”

Wet-hop Simcoe Pale with the “same recipe you’ve seen in the past iterations of this brew.. but sub in freshly harvested Simcoe!”

Citramongous DIPA “how is it we haven’t made a DIPA with Citra fresh hops yet.. seems a crime. Consider that resolved.”

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Fresh Hop Ale time

The first couple of weeks in September are a magical time for hopheads and lovers of the bitter beers.

It is when the fresh (wet) hop ales start flowing. Usually because they are marketed as such, they end up mostly in kegs and mostly local. There are some bottled versions (Full Sail and Bridgeport in Portland) and even canned versions (the new Surly Wet) but the best bet is to check your local brewery or craft beer bar for what’s coming in the next couple weeks.

You can call or quiz your barkeep. But what I found to work is to friend them on Facebook or if you do the tweet thing, follow them there. If you are in Los Angeles, head to Ladyface Ales in Agoura Hills. They have a fresh hop XPA, Palo Comado that is delicious.

These are great beers with a real kick and sparkle to them.

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New Rogue line

from Draft Magazine…

Chatoe Rogue, a new offshoot label of the brewery, has announced its flagship brew Wet Hop Ale as the first brew of a series set for release in 2010.

And you guessed it, wet hops are the star of this beer; a 200-barrel brew is made with 3,000 pounds of wet, First-Growth hops.

These hops are brewed the same day they leave the ground, and then they are blended, bottled, and kegged by Rogue brewmaster, John Maier. Each of Chatoe Rogue’s products, all First-Growth GYO Certified, will use hops from Rogue’s Micro Hop yard.

Wet Hop Ale is made with Independence and Revolution hops, but the label also promises a Pinot Envy Ale, a Dirtoir Ale, a Single Malt Ale, and an OREgasmic Ale that will assuredly have big shoes to fill.

Rogue is really amping things up. First they do the John-John line of beers and the Sesquicentennial beers and now this!