Bend Brewing Company’s Fresh Trop IPA.

Late summer and early fall is one of my favorite times of the year, because it means the arrival of fresh hop beers. The annual hop harvest begins in August and proceeds through early October. During this narrow window of time, breweries take advantage of the availability of fresh, unkilned hops to craft these special beers.

On brew day, a brewer races to the hop farm to collect the freshest hops available to add to a beer already in progress. Once harvested, hops begin to degrade quickly, and need to be used within 24 hours; most are added within a fraction of that time.

“Fresh Hop season is my favorite time of the year, it’s a lot of work for us logistically but is really rewarding after a long summer to reconnect with the farmers and remind myself why I love brewing,” said Zach Beckwith, Bend Brewing Company’s head brewer, via email.

Fresh hop beers can be a revelation compared to their “standard” versions. They exhibit bright, pungent, fresh aromas and flavors that might remind you of fresh-cut grass, often with spicy, snappy, herbal or fruity notes. Not surprisingly, different varieties of hops have their own distinctive characteristics.

“We’ve had great results with the Simcoe from BC Hop Ranch,” Beckwith said. “This will be our third season using them in our Fresh Trop (Fresh Hop IPA).” For the brewery’s Fresh Hop Grove Pale Ale, he used Strata hops, and brewed a third, Bines That Shine Fresh Hop Red, with Crystal hops.

With Fresh Trop, I found the Simcoe hops to present very ripe tropical fruit aromas (mango, cantaloupe, papaya). A clean bitterness with a fresh savory herb note defines the flavor along with the fruit, finishing with a hint of minty eucalyptus, all supported by a great malt body. It’s 6.5% alcohol by volume with 65 IBUs, and is available in cans.

Crux Fermentation Project brewed its first fresh hop ale of the year, Pert Near Fresh Hop IPA, with a new variety, McKenzie. According to marketing manager Jason Randles, Crux first brewed with it when it still had just a number (C148). “We wanted to change up Pert Near this year and the McKenzie hop was an early harvest so it worked out well,” he said via email.

To my taste, the fresh McKenzie hops offered up a fruity aroma with some “woodsy” berry (such as currants or huckleberries), and is full of fruity, dank, forest floor earthiness, finishing with overripe fruit and eucalyptus-like spice. It’s 6.9% ABV with 50 IBUs.

Brewmaster Ryan Schmiege of Cascade Lakes Brewing Company brewed Koosah Fresh Hop IPA with Centennial hops, coaxing out aromas of spicy wild greens and mustard seed, which complement a bright, savory bitterness that is herbal and earthy. It’s available in cans, and is 6.1% ABV with 60 IBUs. He also brewed a draft-only fresh hop ale, Watkins Fresh Hop Pale Ale.

“Watkins Fresh Hop Pale Ale was an exciting project for us. It’s named after Andy Watkins who manages the Rhine family’s (Cascade Lakes owners) ranch in the Painted Hills,” said Schmiege via email. “Andy grew, handpicked and delivered 150 pounds of the hops so we could brew 20 barrels of this beer which is available exclusively on draught at our pubs. It’s receiving great comments so far which is wonderful for everyone, but especially for Andy, who has put so much heart into the hops.”

With the season in full swing, I’ve been trying as many of these beers as I can, and locally, over three dozen will be released. Next week I’ll write about more of these beers, and if you’re interested in keeping track of what is available, I maintain a current list at my website, thebrewsite.com.

Top 5 Beers of the Week

Ludwig Von Crispy — Deschutes Brewery

Fresh Hop Rippin NW Pale Ale — Sunriver Brewing

Night Owl Pumpkin Ale — Elysian Brewing

Hydrosphere Fresh Hop IPA — Silver Moon Brewing

Bobtoberfest — Heater Allen Brewing