Looking back at last year’s fresh hop beers.

It’s that time of year again. Fresh hop season is back! Breweries from across the province are making the trek to hop farms in BC and south of the border to pick-up freshly harvested hops for their seasonal brews. The hype is real for craft beer nerds out there.

For the last three years I’ve hosted a fresh hop beer share with some close friends. 2018 may have been the most impressive one to date with twelve different beers from some of our favourite BC breweries, including one home brew.

Pouring a Strathcona Beer Company fresh hop beer

What’s more impressive is the diversity of styles that local breweries are now incorporating fresh hops into. Shelves were flooded with fresh hop IPAs and pale ales a few years back, but last year there was a noticeable shift. Fresh hop sours. Blondes. ESBs. Brewers are getting really creative with where they use the coveted fresh hops, and those that have remained consistent with their annual release have the recipe dialed in.

With that being said, I couldn’t be more excited to try this year’s batch of fresh hop beers. Hopefully this recap brings back a few fond memories from last year and gets you psyched for the 2019 fresh hop season that’s now in full swing.

Steel & Oak Brewing So Fresh Fresh Hop Blonde (5%)

This light and crispy blonde ale from S&O was rad. The fresh hops amped up the flavour profile, setting it apart from a standard blonde. Finish was bitter and dry. The can artwork designed by Best Studio was simple, yet still eye-catching with the red text.

Strathcona Beer Company Fresh Hop Sour (5.9%)

Strathcona Beer Company Fresh fresh hop sour

The fresh hopped version of their Instant Crush dry hopped sour, Fresh was straight fire. It might my favourite from last year’s beer share. It boasted tropical, grapefruit notes which amplified the tartness. A thicker mouth-feel added some layers to this lip-puckering brew. Artwork-wise, the label was memorizing. Fresh in every sense of the word. Fingers crossed that Strathcona brings it back this year!

Yellow Dog Brewing Little Dog Syndrome Double Fresh Hop IPA (8.2%)

Yellow Dog Brewing Little Dog Syndrome fresh hop double IPA

The Port Moody staple has been brewing this double IPA for a few years now, and for good reason. Last year’s rendition sported tropical fruit aromas on the nose, a smooth body, bready malt backbone, and bitter finish that slightly lingered. Delicious, boozy, fresh hop heaven.

Yellow Dog Brewing Alpha Dog Fresh Hop Pale Ale (5.2%)

Alpha Dog was crowned the champ in our first fresh hop beer share where we organized a March Madness style elimination bracket to determine the crowd favourite. Voting aside, Alpha Dog was still easily one of the best fresh hop brews last year. It’s hard to beat a perfectly balanced pale ale with tropical aromas and a solid bitter bite. And good news—it’s available tomorrow!

Best Case Brewing Brewing Fresh Hop Hazy Pale Ale

Growler of Best Case Brewing fresh hop beer

My good friend Casey Foster is an avid home brewer that recently took on the Assistant brewer role at House of Funk Brewing (you NEED to visit, if you haven’t already done so). Last year he hooked us up with a growler of his fresh hop hazy pale that took home a bronze medal at the Vancouver home brewing awards.

For this brew he used the combo of Phillips Maltworks pale malt and Munich catapults malt for a classic American pale ale malt bill. Hop-wise, Casey started with Simcoe then added two pounds of wild fresh hops from Langley to the whirlpool; also dry-hopping for added aroma. As if that wasn’t enough hoppy goodness, he also dry-hopped with more Simcoe and wild fresh hops, then fermented with wild Sacc Trois yeast.

pouring Best Case Brewing fresh hop beer

Casey’s fresh hop beer was so damn tasty. It had great head retention, so the carbonation was on point. Light and bright with apple notes and a mellow bitter finish. We had a little leftover from the beer share (surprising, I know), so I didn’t hesitate to pair it with brunch in the morning. Thanks again for the beer, Casey!

Off the Rail Harvest IPA (5.5%)

Off the Rail Brewing Harvest IPA fresh hop beer

The team at Off the Rail used fresh Cascade, Chinook and Crystal hops for their Harvest IPA. It had a grassy hop flavour and bitter, dry finish. It was on the lighter side for this style, which made it approachable and easy-drinking.

Deep Cove Brewers & distillers Fresh Hop Hazy pale Ale (4.5%)

This hazy pale from Deep Cove featured Cascade and Cashmere hops from the Fraser Valley. It poured a bright yellow, with tropical fruit notes and a mild, malt-forward finish. It was definitely one of the more crushable fresh hop beers from 2018.

Category 12 Fresh Hopped WILD Pale Ale (5%)

Category 12 Brewing Fresh Hopped Wild Pale Ale

The beer scientists at Category 12 concocted this tasty pale ale with fresh Centennial and Chinook hops from Chilliwack. It boasts juicy citrus fruit notes, a light body, and dry finish.

This year the C12 team has developed Fresh Data with Bredenhof Hop Farms, which is now available in cans in their tasting room.

Field House Brewing Fresh Hop Sartori Sour IPA (6%)

This sour IPA from the pride of East Abbey utilizes hops from the Sartori Hop Ranch. It was moderately tart upfront, thick and juicy in the middle, with a bready malt undertone. A cool take on the fresh hop IPA, for sure. Field House is consistently producing really unique recipes, so I can’t wait to see what they come up with this year.

Parkside art fresh hop Pale Ale (4.9%)

Parkside came through with a rad label design for this pale ale, matching Kris Kupskay’s mural adorned on the side of the brewery. Aptly named Art, this brew used fresh Centennial hops and was a well balanced, sessionable pale ale. Definitely a nice contrast to the more bitter fresh hop pales out there.

For their 2019 fresh hop beer, Parkside has taken things in a bit of a different direction. They’ve teamed up with fellow craft beer bloggers Tim (@crafttourist), Mike (@thebeerrater), Malcolm (@seatoskybeerguy), and Nick (@thirstyexplorersclub) to create Internet Famous - a Fresh Hop Kveik IPA. You can check out the awesome can artwork and learn more about the beer and launch party here. Nick also published a blog post that details the process of making this beer, including a group trip to Northwest Hop Farms.

Foamers’ Folly On Target Fresh-Hop Saison (7.3%)

This beer was a welcome curve-ball in the middle of the beer share. Utilizing fresh hops from Nortwest Hop Farms, this saison was quite sweet. It had bubblegum and banana flavours, with a peppery spice too. The hops seemed to play more of a supporting role here.

Spinnakers Fresh Hopped Estate Grown Brown ESB (5.2%)

Spinnakers Fresh Hopped Estate Grown ESB

The ESB style is right up Spinnakers’ alley, so putting a modern spin on a classic style was the perfect choice. The fresh hops were sourced from a hop farm in the Sooke River Valley. This was one of the last beers we drank during the beer share, so as you can imagine we were all very “hydrated”. My tasting notes literally say this shit is On the Rail. That joke is a far stretch even for the biggest BC beer nerds… just know that it was a very solid ESB.

Lucky for us craft beer fans, Spinnakers has brought this ESB featuring Chinook, Golding, and Nugget hops back for 2019. Head to their brewpub to try it out!

If you read through all twelve beer descriptions above, I salute you! Hopefully this has hyped you up for some new fresh hop brews, as there is sure to be plenty on shelves soon. Cheers!

Connect with Vanpours

Get in touch! Are you a local brewery? Craft beer enthusiast? Event planner? Media savvy blog guru? Give us a shout, we’d love to hear from you. Shoot us a message on our contact page!