Fresh Hops!
Fresh Hops!
Fresh Hops!
Like in the famous movie, Beetlejuice, I’ve been walking around both PHY locations for weeks trying to summon the Fresh Hop Ghosts to deliver the best beer of the year, “Fresh Hops, Fresh Hops, Fresh Hops!” Say it with me, “Fresh Hops, Fresh Hops, Fresh Hops!” Good job! The ghosts must have been listening because, ladies and gentlemen, Fresh Hop beers are here, and boy are they tasting delicious!
For beer lovers everywhere, especially Hop Heads, fresh hop season is our mecca. There’s just something about those herbaceous, fruity, zippy, lemony, grassy, and dank aromas spewing from your glass. Give me a second while I wipe the drool off my chin! Seriously though, we are so fortunate to live at the source of all this goodness and we are the envy of beer lovers from all over the world this time of year.
What exactly is a fresh hop beer, you ask? Put quite simply, fresh hop beers, also known as wet hop beers, are just that, beers brewed with unkilned hops, often within minutes of being harvested from the field. Over the last couple of years, in an effort to get fresh hop beers to the market sooner, brewers have been making fresh hop infused beers where they will add freshly harvested wet hops to an already finished beer. A tedious process, but the result of adding fresh hops to an already awesome beer is unique and outstanding!
We take fresh hop beer season extremely seriously at PHY, evidenced by the sheer number of taps devoted to these magnificent beverages. Currently, we are pouring 15 fresh hop beers at our West Valley location and 22 at our Terrace Heights location. In addition to all these fresh draught beers, our to-go beer coolers are filled to the brim with fresh hop beers ready for you to enjoy wherever you please! Get them while you can!!
While I have your attention, I’d like to clear up a misconception regarding fresh hop beer season. As most of you know, we will be celebrating the 21st annual Fresh Hop Ale Festival on Saturday, October 5th. For many, this gathering marks the end of the fresh hop season and people are anxious to dust off their sweaters and start drinking porters and stouts! I am here to tell you that some of the best fresh hop beers of the season are only now hitting the distribution channels and are still arriving daily. So, let’s keep this season going until the last drop leaves the beer faucet, not just a date on the calendar! Thanks for listening…
To conclude, I would like to send out some kudos for some of my early season favorites. Serious props to Wandering Hop Brewing for their Fresh Hop 369, Stoup Brewing Fresh Hop Fiend Pilsner, Bale Breaker x Russian River Green Rush, and Varietal Brewing Fresh Cuz (infusion).
Happy Fresh Hop Week, my friends! Drink wisely and responsibly.
Jim
Posted October 02, 2024
