We're getting into that wonderful few weeks when the fresh hop beers start rolling out. I've been so patient waiting for them this year that I have only asked one establishment -- Deschutes -- if they have it on tap yet. And I haven't even made it over to Full Sail to try this year's Lupulin -- an annual favorite -- but I will remedy that very soon.
Since Google maps are such a handy way to present lists of Where Stuff Is, I propose to maintain a map of which fresh hop beers are available in the Portland area (no offense, Taplister). As far as I know, Full Sail's is the only one on tap so far, so I've started a map with only that entry so far [Update 2010/09/10: it's steadily filling up now]:
View 2010 Portland Fresh Hop Beers in a larger map
Click on the thumbtacks to find out what and where the beer is. I think I'll start with green thumbtacks, and if a beer runs out I will change the tack to red.
Please help me fill it in! If you see a fresh-hop beer on tap around town, leave a comment, email me, or tweet me (@itspubnight). Feel free to comment on how you liked the beer, I'll add some of that to the entries on the map.
Not so local: Pelican is releasing their fresh hop ale, Elemental, on September 17th in bottles and on tap.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea Bill. I will definitely help with the map and spreading the word. Can't wait to get me some more fresh hops!
ReplyDeleteI was at Hopworks last weekend (one of my infrequent visits to Portland), and apparently the seasonal Gayle's Pale Ale is a fresh hop beer; I didn't realize that until I was writing up the review tonight and saw that in the photo of the bar chalkboard.
ReplyDeleteI sense the level of confusion rising between fresh hop (freshly dried hops) and wet hop (freshly picked hops).
ReplyDelete@Jon: Thanks, someone pointed that out on Twitter also, it's on the map now.
ReplyDelete@Harry: Dried hops are not fresh! Sierra Nevada is the worst propagator of this confusion: "Our fresh hops are flown in from New Zealand as soon as they're dry...". Like the Fawlty Towers episode where John Cleese assures a diner "I assure you the peas were absolutely fresh when they were frozen".
Dave: good find! Think of tomatoes: the ones that get canned are allowed to get ripe enough to be tasty; the ones in the grocery store have to be shipped and sold while they're hard enough to be pretty.
ReplyDeleteDoubt there's a similar phenomenon with hops.
Bill, this is a great idea--but it will require a lot of work as kegs wink on and off around the city. Still, here's one:
ReplyDeleteApex Bar
Oakshire Harvest (Hallertauer?)
Vividly tangy, with the usual grassy notes. No overt funkiness--it should be a popular wet hop.
@Bill: as I mentioned, this is going to cause confusion. I may be wrong (unlikely) but the Gayle's was brewed with fresh dried hops and is thus not a wet hop beer.
ReplyDelete@Harry: Ow! Hopworks made it with dry hops but called it "fresh hop"? That's what always pissed me off about Sierra Nevada's Harvests.
ReplyDeleteIt's ridiculous to talk about "wet hops". Did it rain on them on the way to the brewery? Did they fall into the bathtub?
"Fresh Hop" should mean "not dried hop". Not "boy, this hop was only dried a couple of days ago".
Hales Fresh Hop also on at Concordia.
ReplyDeleteBill,
Maybe we should persuade Taplister to track this as a 'fresh hop bar'?
I am not sure about the Hopworks beer. Hopworks tweet from 8/19/10:
ReplyDelete"Brewing a Fresh Hop Pale for Biketobeerfest......first picked hops of the season from Goschie Farm"
Sure seems like they were used "fresh" not dried. I need confirmation before I skewer them for using "fresh" dried hops.
Hopworks has added Goldilocks, a fresh hop ale on tap. More info on their twitter.
ReplyDeleteOK, I'll add Goldilocks, but I'm a little disenchanted since Christian told me he will never use "wet" hops, only freshly-dried.
ReplyDeleteFYI: The new Cascade Brewing Barrel House has fresh hop porter on tap!!
ReplyDeletesb
Is it just going on today? My buddy was there last night and says there was no fresh hop beer.
ReplyDeleteDo you know if it contains any not-dried hops? Or is it one of these "fresh-dried" fresh-hop beers?