Whether you’re a hop fiend or a casual imbiber, by now you’ve likely knocked back at least a couple of fresh hop beers. This is, after all, that glorious time of year that can only truly be enjoyed by those of us lucky enough to live in the Northwest. Plenty of breweries around the country get fresh hops shipped in, but what makes this time of year so special is the ability of Northwest breweries to drive to the sprawling hop farms in Yakima and the Willamette Valley — often in three hours or less — pick out big bags of whole cone beauties, and have them back in their brew kettle that very day. The resulting “freshness” imparts a whole different dimension to beer, often bright, green, herbaceous, vegetal, grassy — or some combination of all of the above. It also means that these beers are generally pretty fragile and are meant to be consumed within one-to-three weeks of being packaged.
For those of us who “chase freshies” and savor this time of year as the best time to be a beer drinker, there are endless choices ranging from hazy and West Coast IPAs, to lagers and ambers. It’s truly a field of dreams out there. Below are some of the best fresh hop beers to try as we enter into the second half of a season that often stretches from mid-August to early October.
Pioneer ESB
Baerlic Beer Company | Portland, Oregon
Here’s something that might surprise you: perhaps the hoppiest, most vegetal aroma you’ll experience comes from an ESB. In the past, this beer has been more subtle, but this year the Baerlic team pulled no punches to use heaps of Mt. Hood hops to bring out that grassy, garlicky meadow of delight that truly shines on the light, malty foundation of the ESB. Obviously, this isn’t a traditional take on an ESB, but this is the kind of crazy beer you show to someone who wants to know what makes a fresh hop beer so different.
baerlicbrewing.com
Fresh Hop Fiend Series
Stoup Brewing | Seattle, Washington
You can spot these cans by the hoppy riff on the fiend skull logo from seminal punk band The Misfits, hence the name of the series. Stoup, one of the best breweries in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood, typically releases a handful of these beers with different hops and every single one of them is worth scooping up, as they are masters of clear, crisp IPAs that lend themselves perfectly to fresh hops. If you can only get one, the Citra version is well worth seeking out as one of the purest expressions of the popular hop you will find.
stoupbrewing.com
Fresh Hop Alpenhaze
Icicle Brewing Company | Leavenworth, Washington
The 2023 Washington Beer Awards Large Brewery of the Year has emerged as a powerhouse when it comes to racking up accolades. Many of those have been for the brewery’s IPAs, both hazy and West Coast. In fact, they picked up a gold medal for their Alpenhaze Fresh Hop-Citra at the Washington Beer Awards last year (among many other awards). Lucky for us, they are bringing it back for a limited canned run this year. If you’re a fan of the tropical, citrus and floral notes that make Citra so unmistakable, you will want to track this beer down. If you happen to find yourself in the charming mountain village of Leavenworth, you can also score the Dragontail IPA brewed with a medley of Citra, El Dorado, and more, in addition to the flagship Icicle Hazy Pale made with fresh Luminosa hops.
iciclebrewing.com
Six Sisters Fresh Hop IPA
Single Hill Brewing | Yakima, Washington
When it comes to fresh hops, only a small handful of breweries are as prolific as Single Hill. This is fitting considering that the Yakima brewery is located in the heart of hop country and often serves as sort of a hoppy hub for brewers visiting from around the country. Among the many offerings they are cranking out this year is a collaboration brew with the Yakima Pink Boots Society. With loads of fresh Centennial, Cascade, Mosaic and Citra hops, it makes for an easy-drinking IPA that is sure to be bursting with crisp, piney goodness.
singlehillbrewing.com
Ripe and Juice Jr.
Great Notion Brewing | Portland, Oregon
The two hazy IPAs that put Portland-based Great Notion on the map are both getting fresh hopified this year. Sometimes fresh hops can get a little lost in the mix when it comes to hazy IPAs, but Great Notion knocks it out of the park with these. Juice Jr. showcases Mosaic hops, while Ripe highlights Citra. The result of each may look like a glass of orange juice but drinks like pure hop nectar.
greatnotion.com
Fresh Hop Volatile Substance IPA
Von Ebert Brewing | Portland, Oregon
In previous years, Von Ebert has only released the fresh hop version of their award-winning Northwest IPA on draft. This has always led to a bit of a frenzy as beer nerds scramble to get to their pubs and try one precious pint. The Von Ebert team got smart this year and canned up a whole bunch of Volatile Substance. The upside is that it’s been easier to get your hands on the Strata version, and the downside is that the Mosaic version — the one you really want — is draft only. Expect the latter to be brimming with notes of blueberry and fresh grass.
vonebertbrewing.com
Hops & Pines and Rye OH Rye
Full Sail Brewing | Hood River, Oregon
Once upon a time, the pioneering Hood River brewery made some of the most excellent fresh hop beers during a time when finding packaged offerings was far more sparse. It’s been a handful of years since we have been able to enjoy a bottled fresh hop from Full Sail, but this year they have two classic offerings that can be found on draft. Their Northwest IPA showcases freshly harvested salmon-safe Mosaic and Cascade hops, while their Rye IPA uses experimental hop HBC1019, Amarillo and Simcoe. This one is particularly exciting both in terms of the hop combination and for the fact that rye IPAs are practically a unicorn when it comes to fresh hops.
fullsailbrewing.com
Fresh Cassette IPA
Wander Brewing | Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham’s highly decorated Wander Brewing can execute nearly any style flawlessly, but they truly shine when it comes to all things hoppy. This includes their Citra-infused Cassette IPA, a hazy that features hundreds of pounds of hops that were flown in by a small airplane straight from Yakima and thrown into the brew that very day. Talk about efficiency!
wanderbrewing.com
Sticky Hands Double IPA
Block 15 Brewing | Corvallis, Oregon
Once upon a time, this Corvallis, Oregon, brewery’s flagship double IPA was the kind of beer that had the fan boys chasing delivery trucks just to score a four-pack. Many batches and special iterations of Sticky Hands later, there is one version of this big piney double that Block 15 has not produced. By the time you read this, it may be nearly impossible to find a can of fresh hop Sticky Hands packed with cryogenically frozen fresh Citra hop cones. However, this is a beer that Block 15 fans have been begging for and now that it’s here, it’s worth putting in some legwork — maybe even chasing a truck.
block15.com
Stunt Monkey
Grains of Wrath | Camas, Washington
Grains of Wrath is one of the top brewers of clear West Coast-style IPAs in the Northwest, and the amount of awards they have racked up is a testament to that. This year they are sticking to mostly draft-only offerings that include their beloved Built for Speed West Coast IPA made with Simcoe, Destination Funeral IPA with Mosaic, and Panopticon West Coast IPA with Citra. If you can’t make it to their taproom, the beer you want to seek out is their collaboration with McIlhenny Brewing called Stunt Monkey, which is canned up and bursting with dankness and citrus from the Strata.
gowbeer.com
Fresh Cumulus IPA
Coldfire Brewing | Eugene, Oregon
Eugene’s most underrated brewery has brewed up a fresh hop version of their flagship Cumulus IPA that is one of the tastiest releases you will find this year. They even had some extra fun by flash-freezing their freshly harvested hops with liquid nitrogen and shattering them before adding them to the brewing process.
coldfirebrewing.com
The Frais á l’Orange
de Garde Brewing | Tillamook, Oregon
Old beer with fresh Strata hops? Yes please. Fresh hop season doesn’t have to be all IPAs. The wizards of spontaneously fermented brews at Tillamook’s de Garde always do things a little differently. That includes their fresh hop offering that is always one of the more interesting beers during the season, and perhaps the only one you can age. This year’s edition takes a barrel-aged wild ale and adds fresh orange zest as a perfect complement to the citrus-leaning notes of Strata hops and the tartness of the sour beer.
degardebrewing.com
Sultry Fresh Hop Mosaic IPA
Heathen Brewing | Vancouver, Washington
Heathen has brewed some of the weirdest fresh hop beers I’ve tried, and that is a good thing. I still think about the all-Sabro fresh hop beer Sultry, not necessarily for being my all-time favorite but for how insanely different and wild it was to drink with big bursts of coconut craziness. That’s why I am excited for this year’s edition of their Sultry series featuring Mosaic. This uses a hop that is far less divisive but nonetheless places all of those signature flavors front and center. We’re talking blueberry, bubblegum, tropical fruit and earthiness.
heathenbrewing.com
West Coast Pilsner
Recluse Brew Works | Washougal, Washington
Since opening last year, this little Washougal brewery has been making waves with their crispy lagers and clean IPAs. This year they have only brewed one fresh hop beer, which is all the more reason to seek it out. Using fresh Luminosa — known for its bright fruitiness and tropical notes — they have given us the best of both worlds by brewing a hoppy West Coast pilsner that takes the best traits of an IPA and a pilsner, and doses them with that green fresh hop flavor.
reclusebrew.works
Mississippi Red
Stormbreaker Brewing | Portland, Oregon
The underrated Portland brewery is cranking out a whopping 17 fresh hop beers this year. The one that is most worth seeking out might be the one you’d least expect. Mississippi Red has been a personal favorite the last several years, and I will admit that I don’t care for red ales. With fresh hops toning down the malty backbone, this is one of those beers that shouldn’t work but somehow does.
stormbreakerbrewing.com
