Hop Season Is Underway And New Brews Are Releasing Soon
Check-out these brewing companies and their seasonal beer releases made with freshly harvested hops
Photo courtesy of Anne Norman (Full Pour Media)
This time-honored tradition and popular beer style can be a laborious process with brewers often having to plan out several months or even a year out in advance. Some time during the late summer, brewers will often stop what they’re doing, to harvest fresh hops, also known as wet hops, which are whole cones that must be used within 48 hours of harvest.
If you’re looking for fresh hop beers to enjoy, the Colorado Brewers Guild has you covered. Enjoy the following fresh hop beer releases and events from the State of Craft Beer.
Photo courtesy of Bristol Brewing Company
Bristol Brewing Company – Shattered Fresh Hop Pale Ale
On the bine one day, picked, shipped, and in the brew within hours of receipt—that’s the magic of this Fresh Hop Pale Ale. In collaboration with Metric Brewing Co., the Colorado Springs brewers flash-froze fresh, whole-cone Strata hops and shattered them by hand to release all the lush dankness. Then the brewers dry-hopped with them in the brite tank for a luscious feast of fresh hoppiness. Or is it happiness? 5.3% ABV. Available on draft at both breweries now.
Call to Arms Brewing – More Like Bore-O-Phyll Fresh Hop IPA
Call to Arms Brewing’s More Like Bore-O-Phyll is a Fresh-Hopped West Coast IPA featuring fresh Cascade hops flown-in from Oregon. The gold medal winner of the 2018 World Beer Cup in the Fresh or Wet Hop category, More Like Bore-O-Phyll features a bright burst of tropical citrus and grapefruit notes through the use of Cascade fresh hops, coupled with a dry-hop of Cashmere, Citra, Galaxy and Amarillo hops and finishes dry to the taste.
Photo courtesy of Anne Norman (Full Pour Media)
Call to Arms Brewing – Janet Reno’s Dance Party Hazy Fresh Hop IPA
Sure it’s a bit of a dated reference, but in a time when patriotism isn’t what it used to be, former US Attorney General Janet Reno still springs eternal.
What began as a flagship Session IPA for Call to Arms Brewing has received a glow-up. After much experimentation and receiving feedback from staff, the CtA team made the decision to evolve their iconic Janet Reno’s Dance Party into a Hazy IPA, and now goes a step further by getting the fresh hop treatment for the first time. Bursting forth with tropical fruit-forward flavors through the use of Strata fresh hops and a mellow easygoing profile much like its namesake public servant with notes of pineapple and fresh peach.
Both beers will be available on-draft in the Call to Arms tasting room by September 20th and Fresh Hop Janet Reno’s Dance Party will also be available in 6-pack cans across the state of Colorado via Call to Arms’ full distribution network shortly thereafter.
Photo courtesy of Anne Norman (Full Pour Media)
Comrade Brewing Company – Fresh Hop Superpower IPA
Fresh Hop Superpower IPA will be available on tap Sept. 11. For this beer, Comrade brewed their flagship Superpower IPA with over 500 pounds of wet hops provided by Billy Goat Hop Farms in Montrose, CO. This beer, which is draft only, is also a 2014 and 2015 Great American Beer Festival Silver Medal winner.
FlyteCo Brewing – Hop is My Co-Pilot
The freshest fresh hop beer a beer lover – Hop is my Co-Pilot – could get their hands on is available now at FlyteCo Tower. On August 15, aviation-themed FlyteCo Brewing and their pilots-turned-brewery owners took a hop pilgrimage to Billy Goat Hop Farm. At dawn, they routed a small passenger plane from Denver to Southwest Colorado to gather hops straight off the stems. They turned around and headed back to Denver to add hops to the brew kettle – a whirlwind five hours. It results in the freshest wet hop beer on the market.
Photo courtesy of Anne Norman (Full Pour Media)
Mountain Tap Brewery
Mountain Tap Brewery in Steamboat Springs kicked off fresh hop season by tapping two fresh hop beers the first week in September. The beers will continue flowing while supplies last, likely well into October.
Elkstone Elixir, a German-style pilsner conditioned with hops grown at Elkstone Farm just 3 miles up the road from Mountain Tap, tapped up on Monday, September 2. The hops were harvested by Elkstone farmers and Mountain Tap brewers early one morning, then added to the brew within hours of being harvested. The result: a crisp beer that drinks light like a lager but with a unique fresh hoppy flavor and aroma.
Photo courtesy of Mountain Tap Brewery
Picking Fresh Hops, a fresh-hop IPA brewed with hops grown at Billy Goat Hop Farm in Montrose, Colorado, tapped up on Friday, September 6. The Magnum, Chinook and Comet hops were harvested by Billy Goat farmers during the evening hours of 8/21/24 then trucked some 240 miles in the wee hours of the morning for a hop rendezvous in Silverthorne with Mountain Tap brewmaster Rich Tucciarone. Then the 100 pounds of hops finished their journey up to Steamboat, where the brew was in process. The cones arrived just in time to be added to the brew kettle.
