Just in time for Halloween, a fresh hop treat
To celebrate the hop harvest, I drank a Fresh Hop Pale Ale, from Great Divide Brewing Co. in Denver, the other night. This beer is brewed with fresh whole cone hops that, the label tells me, are shipped "wet" from the Pacific Northwest to Denver. The brewery says the idea of this hurried, overnight shipment is to give the beer a grassy hop aroma and citrus hop flavor. I thought this brew had both, plus a nice malt underlay. It was quite a beer.
The brewery's web site says that making a beer with "wet hops" is expensive, requiring extra manpower and extra hops. I paid $8.49 at the Wine Source for a 650-milliliter bottle. At that price I regard it as a "treat" for beer drinkers, just in time for Halloween. The distributor in Maryland is Legends.
Anyone else have this beer? Anyone have any other "fresh hop" brews?
Comments
Just started to look for Sierra Nevada's Wet Hop Ale (Harvest series), can't wait to try it
Posted by: Jason | October 28, 2008 1:52 PM
I've never had one but I think I'd like to try it. Can anyone suggest any others to try?
Posted by: Jr Copper | October 28, 2008 2:20 PM
Great Divide's Fresh Hop offering is superb. I've been told it should be hitting shelves here in Florida soon... Hopefully SN's Harvest Ale should be close on its heels!
Posted by: Hunter | October 28, 2008 2:43 PM
I really like the Sierra Nevada Harvest. Had it on tap at the Kennet Square Brewfest in early-October and had to buy a couple bottles of it when I got back home. Hop-lovers should go try this beer!
Posted by: JayT | October 31, 2008 6:36 AM
I had one of these over the weekend. I enjoyed that this brew was not over hopped. Being a hop focused beer I liked the fact that the bitterness was balanced and the hops used were flavorful, soft , with great smell. The rich malt was a perfect balance as well. My first impression is that this could be described as a hopped up marzen.
Posted by: Dana | November 3, 2008 9:46 AM
I had one a few weeks ago. My favorite beer store guy said "you'll love this. It has everything a hop head wants from a beer."
He was absolutely right.
Posted by: ak | November 6, 2008 1:25 PM