10 Favorite Fresh-Hop Beers Slideshow
Homegrown Ale, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
The California brewery grows its own barley and organic hops for this estate-made ale, which is packed with flavors of earth and grapefruit. It's subtly sweet, with notes of biscuits and toast.
Fresh Hop Pale Ale, Great Divide Brewing Co.
Well calibrated and balanced, this Colorado-brewed pale ale pours sunset-orange and is a gentle hop wallop — a grapefruit aroma leads to grassy flavors cut with a hint of pine needles.
[image: PHM Craft Beer Reviews and Pictures]
Hop Trip, Deschutes Brewery
Within four hours of plucking the hops from the vine, Deschutes tosses them into the brew kettle. Instead of overdosing on hoppy bitterness, this smooth pale ale mixes piney overtones with lip-smacking malt sweetness.
[image: PHM Craft Beer Reviews and Pictures]
Harvest Ale, Weyerbacher Brewing Company
Using Cascade hops grown on owner Dan Weirback's farm, Weyerbacher's wet-hop IPA bursts with bright and enticing aromas of lawnmower-cut grass and just-peeled citrus, while the bitterness remains present yet reserved.
Harvest Ale, Founders Brewing Co.
Released in October, Harvest pours a hazy, golden orange that is crowned by a creamy head. Offering a perfume of grass and citrus, the ale drinks earthy, malty, and floral, with notes of toast and a touch of pine. It closes as soft as cashmere.
High Tide Fresh Hop IPA, Port Brewing Company
Each batch of High Tide is crammed with 180 pounds of field-fresh hops. Though the recipe is tweaked annually depending on crop availability, expect the IPA to have a dank aroma of grapefruit or resinous pine, a luscious doughy sweetness, and a sticky mouthfeel.
Wet, Surly Brewing Co.
For this farm-fresh canned IPA, Surly relies upon heaps of distinctly American hops (tropical Citra and piney, woody Simcoe) to create this resinous sipper. Per Surly, "This ain't a beer for aging. The beer quickly loses its aromatics. So invite your friends over and enjoy this West-Coast style IPA... now."
[image, FinnKidd]
Hop Harvest Ale, BridgePort Brewing Co.
Thanks to its proximity to the area's hop fields, Oregon's oldest craft brewery can source just-harvested hops, whisk 'em to the brewhouse, and dump them into beer within a single day. The results change yearly, but they're always transcendent: juicy hops set atop a framework of full-bodied malt.
Hundred Yard Dash Fresh Hop Ale, Brau Brothers Brewing Co.
For this brewery in tiny Lucan, Minn., the measurement refers to the distance between the brew kettle and the state's biggest hop yard, home to eleven different varieties. This estate ale's medley of hops imparts grassy, piney flavors that are complemented by hints of toast and caramel.
[image: Lupulin Libations]
Heavy Handed IPA, Two Brothers Brewing Co.
The Illinois brewery's fall release boasts a coppery tint, with plenty of malt to stand up to the assertive but never overwhelming bitterness. It may not be a hop junkie's favorite, but you'll appreciate the balance and bit of sweetness.
[image: It's Just the Booze Dancing]