When (h)opportunity knocks

As a hop-loving former-East-Coastian now-Seattleite, my bi-coastal proclivities occasionally pop up in the most interesting ways ‒ and notably, often when it comes to hoppy, delicious beer.

If you judged me by my beer tastes alone, you'd assume I was born into a mossy, water-logged PNW family who enjoyed hop-infused vitamins at breakfast. I'm a one-trick IPA pony with, quite literally, just one one-liner at the bar: "What's your hoppiest beer on tap?"

Yet if you judged me by ambulatory speed and/or competitiveness surrounding fairly nonsensical things (e.g., being among the first in line for Pliny the Younger; waking up at 4:30 am PST to partake in a random drawing for 40 quid "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" tickets), you'd see my East Coast origins as clear as a beer-water Bud Light.

So what happens when a surprise off-night is upon me ‒ and my two (now) favorite fresh hop beers are available for purchase?!?!

HOP-DOWN. YO.

That's right. Fremont Brewing just released its Field to Ferment Citra Fresh Hop Pale Ale yesterday (September 28), and HOLY MOLY ‒ it's amazing. I may or may not have a text from J requesting a purchase of a second pint, quote "IT WAS TOO DELICIOUS."

But then ‒ drum roll ‒ there's Reuben's Brews' Amarillo Fresh Hop Pale Ale (released on September 26), and that's topped my fresh hop list ever since I learned that fresh hops were a thing (circa two-to-three years ago). My dad ‒ an arguable IPA aficionado (I constantly thank whatever DNA sequencing gave me my dad's appreciation of bitter, hoppy beer) ‒ still raves about the Amarillo Fresh Hop I brought to upstate NY for him.

So ‒ the hop-down.

To do this right and proper, you'd ideally concoct some kind of blind taste-testing, perhaps conduct a good palate-cleansing in between tastes. Usually one would need an additional participant for said blind taste-testing, preferentially someone who knew which brew went where and then could say "Ta DA, you liked THIS one the best!" upon your report of the most beloved sample.

As a single person in residence without roommates, it's not as immediately easy (or scientifically robust) to host an impromptu taste-test/hop-down for...one's self. Can you really create the (h)optimal experimental conditions worthy of such two great beers?

Yes. Or at least a second-rate experiment of sorts.

Solution: pour a bit of each beer into a pint glass previously stored in freezer. Note which fresh-hop goes with each glass (for some reason, I immediately associated Woodchuck Cider/Vermont with Reuben's), close one's eyes, and then switch around the two pint glasses until you really can't recall which one could be on each side. Take a small sip of each without seeking a peek (however tempting that might be), and repeat. And the winner is...

...Citra Citra Citra. Fremont Fremont Fremont. 

After swearing by the Amarillo for so long (aka a year, perhaps two to three ‒ what still seems like a long time, oy), I will posit, for better or worse, I selected Fremont's Fresh Hop Citra Pale Ale as my preferred brew in the Hop-Down 2016 ultimate fight...to the...delicious beer of the evening.

 And that, my friends, is what you do when (h)opportunity knocks.

Cheers,
N

Hoppy (fresh hop) fall!

For better or for worse, my beer tasting and consumption has been much more consistent (and ok, fine, plentiful) than my upkeep of this blog in 2016. Truly, I've meant to update it every once and awhile (eg, "Ohhhh, this Skookum Billing Waves IPA is sooooo good - I really should write about it the beer blog" "Hotline Bling? Can Cloudburst do any wrong?"), but inevitably, something else would distract me ("What - a GSP puppy - WHERE?!") and/or usurp my occasional bouts of free time (it might rhyme with Smogal Durban of Gisease).

I may or may not have run after this adorable GSP puppy on Cannon Beach.

Three things have prompted the return of the beer blog:

(1) The pace at work has slowed down for a few beats.

(2) Our new Director of Research Management asked me about my beer blog on his first day.

(3) It's FRESH HOP SEASON, the most wonderful time of the year in the PNW.

Yes, I've pre-ordered 12 bottles of Reuben's Amarillo Fresh Hop Pale Ale, my most favorite of Seattle-based fresh hops to date. I'd like to hit up the Latona Pub's Fresh Hop Festival on Thursday (and then of course the Pine Box and Brouwer's respective fresh hop events in early October). Fresh hoppity-hop-hops - oh how I love thee.

So what exactly is fresh hop beer? Outside of the PNW, it's not a term that one frequently encounters - I certainly didn't know about it until I moved to Seattle. I'm sure there's a much more technical definition of "fresh hop beer" that the true gurus of brew would give you - I will never claim such knowledge or expertise - but in sum, what makes a "fresh hop" beer fresh and hoppilicious is that a bunch of hops picked directly from the vine are used in the brewing process without additional drying or processing. Apparently there's a "24-hour rule" for fresh hops, such that the "fresh hop" title only should bestowed upon an ale if the hops used have spent less than 24 hours off the hop vine. Apparently fresh hops can be a bit wild and unwieldy for brewers (a Washington Beer blog article I read is super helpful in describing some of the challenges associate with fresh hops), but if done right, you get this amazingly delightful, bursting-with-flavor, and yes - FRESH - beer that makes your tastebuds want to do a hoppy dance. 

Fremont Brewing, one of my all-time favorite breweries, has introduced a really cool program this year, Field to Ferment. I've thoroughly enjoyed comparing the differences between the Centennial and Simcoe fresh hops thus far, and I look forward to sampling the Citra and Mosaic (though I fear I've missed the Citra this week). Amarillo remains my favorite hop (I think), but who knows what this fresh hop season will bring...

Cheers,

N

Return of the Hops

(From last weekend)
A: Remember when you had that beer blog?
N: Yeah, I remember that. That was fun.
A: Why did you stop?
N: Well, there was no reason really. I guess I should do it again.

And here we go.

So what's happened beer-wise in the last 10 months (or since I last penned a beer blog post in April 2014)? Well, to start: I celebrated my 30th birthday in Bend, OR, which was arguably the best place I could possibly celebrate anything given its status of a beer-plus-outdoors mecca.

Favorites from that adventure included Crux Fermentation Project's Outcast IPA, GoodLife Brewing's Descender IPA, and Boneyard's Notorious Triple IPA. Bravehorse Tavern recently had Notorious on tap, making it the most recent Bend beer I've had in awhile. At a 12% ABV and an estimated 90 IBUs, the Notorious lives up to its name in stats - but not necessarily in crazed intensity. Boneyard's 3x brewski joins the ranks of a precious few triple IPAs (and their brewers) that can blend high hops, ABV, and drinkability without dropping into the brandywine abysss of doom (or at least according to my one-trick-wonder-IPA palate). This is a distinction reserved for only the hoptastic crème de la crème, such as Reuben's Brews (Blimey that's Bitter [10.5% ABV; ~80 IBUs]), Georgetown (Kick Ass Blaster [11.4% ABV; unknown IBUs), and this year's Hop Mob hero (and total darkhorse, according to some of Seattle's beer scene insiders), Snipes Mountain Brewing with Hayduke the Wrencher (9.3% ABV; 97 IBUs).

Oops, be kind and rewind to August 7: IPA Day! I had the distinct pleasure of celebrating this glorious event at Reuben's Brews, which offered a fairly fantastic IPA sampler in honor of this high holy day of hops. I took advantage of Reuben's IPA sampler, through which I got to experience the wonderment of crisp, delightful Crikey IPA (6.8% ABV; 53 IBUs). I completely agree with this untappd review: "Tastes way bigger than the ABV and IBUs suggest - grassy and piney with a background of tropical fruity flavours." Pine plus citrus plus refreshment = a major score in my hoppy book.

In October, I fully embraced Seattle's fresh hop season, ranging from the Pinebox's big fresh hop bash to the Noble Fir's daytime hoppy hour(s). For me, a decidedly amateur beer appreciator, fresh hops season offers the awesome opportunity to really delve into what types of hoppy flavors you - or in this case, I - prefer at a more in-your-face, hops-in-your-mouth level. So what did I learn? It turns out that I love Amarillo hops, which are largely responsible for the intensely citrus-y, grapefruit-imbibed IPAs I happen to adore. It also turns out that Reuben's Amarillo Fresh Hop Ale, one of the most amazing citrus-fresh-hop-bombs out there, makes me want to sing Ben Folds' "I Am the Luckiest" at the top of my lungs upon swilling this stellar brew.

Right before December, I made a beer advent calendar. Yes, that really happened. And Fremont Brewing's social media maven said "Oh my Holy Christmas Beer DIY Goddess...you win everything!" And then my life was made. 

Actually come December: oh boy, Hoppy Holidays to...me. Over. And over again.

(1) Maine beer fun with G & M, and my beloved dog niece R (yes, G "made" me drink my Baxter Stowaway IPA out of a straw. If I lived in Maine, I'd probably designate this IPA as a can go-to for every adventure.)

(2) An epic beer exchange with TM, East Coast v. West Coast IPAs (including Maine Beer Company's Lunch IPA [7% ABV; 88 IBUs] - an incredibly delectable, balanced, and crisp IPA. Me want more. Please.)

(3) An even more epic IPA showdown in upstate NY (spoiler: Fremont's Brother IPA won - a beer that's increasingly becoming my all-time favorite IPA)

(4) My dad managed to procure a 4-pack of The Alchemist's Heady Topper (!!!!!) for me through his work's gift grab-bag/White Elephant/Yankee Swap (which of course prompts all kinds of questions, like WHO GIVES AWAY HEADY TOPPER?????). This turned into a Christmas gift that truly kept on giving, as then I had the opportunity provide some of my favorite beer nuts out here in Seattle with their first HT experience.

So that's the rest of my 2014. Sort of. Not really. But did you really want more? That's what I thought.

Coming attractions: the amazing beer I had when the Seahawks tragically lost the Superbowl (the smallest of small, small, small silver linings); SF Beer Week, otherwise known as PlinyQuest 2015; and Tahoe's finest IPA (preview: it's from Stateline Brewery).

Cheers!
N