A Drinker’s Guide to Finding Fresh Hop Beer

 
 

In Oregon, fresh hop season has four distinct phases. The hop harvest begins in the middle of August, the earliest point at which breweries can gather their green gold. The harvest lasts a month, however, so only a small fraction of the hop varieties have ripened by then. Over the next two weeks, intrepid drinkers can find fresh hop beers, but they’re sparse and hard to find.

The second phase kicks in around Labor Day weekend. By that time, a lot of fresh hop beers are in the pipeline and for the first time they’re not hard to find. Still, it’s a bit early to find them everywhere. One still needs to do some hunting, while exercising patience. A brewery like Breakside, which makes a dozen fresh hop beers (give or take), will have a few out, but if you want that special Citra-hopped WC pils, you’re going to have to wait.

The fourth phase, to step out of order a bit, begins around October 1st. The wet season arrives then, and the high temperatures are dropping fast. One of the key elements of fresh hop season involves the Pacific Northwest’s amazing Septembers, when the weather is still nice but not scorching—perfect for sitting outside. Nothing complements the mood more than a harvest-fresh beer. However, all of that shifts in October. Although there are still lots of fresh hop beers out there, some have gotten long in the tooth, and pubs are starting to feature heavier fall beers. It’s still a banner time for fresh hop beers—one still rich in availability, as well as some key festivals.

But that brings us to the premier phase for locating and drinking fresh hop beers, and it is starting right now.

 
 
 
 

If you don’t live in Oregon, the third phase is the one to target. The third week of September is the high season, when the greatest density of fresh hops are on the market. All the hops have been harvested, and even beers made using the longer process (see below) are out. I just checked with Roscoe’s, a local taproom, and 15 of 20 of their taps are pouring fresh hop beers (in nine different styles). You won’t find that ratio at breweries, but it indicates what people are drinking now.

So given that we’re on the cusp of the first weekend of Peak Fresh Hops, let’s talk about where to find them!

Where to Find the Fresh Hops

General Things to Know

  • Hop varieties mature at different times. Growers cultivate many different varieties of hops so they don’t all ripen at the same time. This affects which varieties of hops you’ll see at any given time during fresh hop season.

  • The beers are made differently, according to two schools. Brewers can add freshly-picked, undried hops to beer as it’s being made or to finished beer. If they add it to beer they’re making, it will take a couple weeks to complete the process. If they add it to finished beer, it can go out almost immediately.

  • Some breweries specialize in fresh hop beers. Not every brewery makes a dozen fresh hop beers, so plan ahead by visiting Instagram feeds before you visit a brewery.

  • They’re better on draft. (But buy them in cans, too@

The mid-Willamette Valley, where Oregon’s hops are grown, is fairly central to most of the state. Whether a brewery is traveling from Ashland, Portland, Astoria, or Bend, it’s a pretty quick sprint back to breweries with bags of fresh hops. Which is to say, if you’re in Oregon, you’re in the zone. Okay, you find yourself in Oregon, and you want a fresh hop beer. Where do you go?

Independent Taprooms & Pubs
For the sheer number of offerings, it’s hard to beat a place like Roscoe’s. Because they’re not limited to what they can brew, they can devote half their taps or more to fresh hops. In one sitting you might be able to find a dozen or more different offerings. Below is a sampling of choices—but it’s far from exhaustive. If you know of a local place that I didn’t list, they’re probably awesome. In the list below, I’ve given the current number of fresh hop beers, where that info is available. (Comment/email to alert me to good ones to add.)


Fests
Fests are definitely the most target-rich environment in which to find fresh hops, their only limitations being temporal. If you can visit one, definitely do. In a world in which beer fests no longer seem urgent, fresh hop fests are a fine antidote. Where else can you scratch your lupulin itch as well as a place pouring dozens of them?

  • Lone Wolf Watering Hole. (S. Waterfront, Portland) Not sure if this should be in the taproom or fests list, but they have a fresh hop fest this weekend, Sept 18-20.

  • Fresh Hop Pop-up. Portland’s long-running joint venture with Prost! Marketplace runs for 17 days starting today. Each day features a different theme, with a dozen or so beers that fit the bill. Today things kick off with beers from Goschie Farms.

  • Hop & Heritage Festival, Sept 26 (Independence). A fest sponsored by Coleman Agriculture and hosted by the city of Independence, in the heart of hop-growing country.

  • Hillsboro Hops Fresh Hop Fest, Oct 3 (Hillsboro). The Hillsboro Hops baseball team has a brand-new ballpark, one designed for events that don’t include double plays. The ball club is very excited to get into beer, a this is their maiden voyage for a beer fest. Organizers curated it for diversity of styles and breweries.

  • Orchard and Ale Fest, Oct 3 (Hood River). This successor event to Hood River’s long-running fresh hop fest is styled more as a harvest fest, and draws in the valley’s strong cider tradition.

 

Threshold making their tenth (!) and final fresh hop pick-up at Goschie Farms three days ago.

 

Breweries
I hesitate to identify breweries here because I will definitely leave out some who have gone all in on fresh hop season. (Please alert me via email or in comments.) It’s tricky because I would guess a majority of breweries in Oregon make at least one fresh hop beer, and some make six or more. As one data point, Coleman Agriculture sent me a list of the breweries who visited to buy fresh hops, and it numbered more than fifty. That’s somewhere between 20-25% of all the breweries in Oregon—buying from one farm. So with those caveats, let me mention the following breweries that are famously committed to fresh hop beers, routinely win awards, and brew a bunch of them.

Historically, breweries that go all out include: Block 15, Breakside, Deschutes, Fort George, Gigantic, Great Notion, Little Beast, Living Haus, pFriem, Ruse, and Stormbreaker. I saw this year that Brujos, Crooked Creek, Grand Fir, and Threshold had robust offerings. And keep in mind that even if a brewery isn’t doing a dozen of them, one or two is reason enough to make a stop. Two years ago my favorite fresh hop was a lager at Wayfinder, which has a modest number of fresh hops.

Beer CultureJeff AlworthComment