2022 FRESH HOP BEER SHARE
THE FRESHEST TIME OF THE YEAR
It’s been a hot minute since we hosted our annual fresh hop beer share (thanks COVID). To say we’ve missed one of our favourite fall traditions would be an understatement, so we had to go hard in the paint this year.
While Luke and I always look forward to sampling a loaded lineup of fresh hop brews, the highlight of this event is the vibes, and catching up with folks that we haven’t seen in quite some time.
Our pal Jeremy graciously hosted us this year (thanks Jer!), and the rest of the crew assembled the beer lineup. This year’s share included 13 different fresh hop seasonals. As expected, most breweries elected for the IPA or pale ale style. And like past years, there were some excellent freshies and some not-so-fresh ones.
The returning cast of Dageraad Wet-Hopped Blonde, Driftwood Sartori Harvest IPA (now in tall cans!), Yellow Dog Alpha Dog Pale Ale, Backcountry Maple Bay IPA, and Strathcona Fresh Hop Sour were all excellent, each in their own right. Strangely, this was my first year trying the infamous Sartori Harvest as I was able to secure a couple cans from my go-to local beer store, Darby’s Kitsilano. I can finally confirm that the hype for this beer is very real…it’s a downright delicious west coast IPA. As they say, “Don’t fix what ain’t broke!”
The Freshie Fresh Fresh IPA from Yellow Dog’s sister brewery, Neighbourhood Brewing was the standout from the newer crop of fresh hops. Barnside’s Farm Fresh Hop IPA was also dialed in, and SuperFlux’s Hazy was what you would expect from a brewery that brews some of the best hazy IPAs in BC.
Unfortunately, there were a couple of downright duds in our lineup, too. Bland. Off-flavours. Not what you want filling your cup. We’re not brewers, but can imagine that using fresh hops instead hop pellets adds a level of unpredictability to the process, so we’re not going to be too hard on these breweries. Hopefully they tweak the recipes or try something different next year.
We hope you were able to try some fresh hops beers this year, and enjoyed the sample sessions as much as we did. We’re already excited for next year’s releases!
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