Time's passed, and past time!

OK, mea culpa, it's been way too long since I've updated. Thanks to my friend Val in New York, who recommended this blog to a friend and thereby poked me into actually writing at last.

Today's beer is not just seasonal, it's also somewhat peculiar to breweries near hop growing areas. It's Hop Trip, a fresh hopped pale ale from Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Oregon.

"Fresh hopped?", you ask. "What's fresh hopped, Geoff? Isn't pale ale already pretty hoppy?" We'll, there are hops, and then there are hops. Most hops come dried or pelletized from the processing facility. This is because when fresh, the flavor components of the hops deteriorate rapidly. While drying does cost some of the more volatile components, it preserves the rest for storage.

Fresh hops beers are usually only brewed within a few hours of the hop fields. The hops aren't processed at all, except to remove debris like dirt and stems. As the label for Hop Trip states, "Fresh picked hops have to be added to the brew immediately, so one brewer starts the brew in Bend, while another rushes the hops three hours back from the Willamette Valley." I've never actually brewed a fresh hop beer, because all of my breweries have been too far from the fields.

"The beer, man! What about the actual beer?!" Well, here we go. First observation is color. It's a nice, medium amber color, a little on the dark side of pale ale but not out of the ordinary. The head retention is good, and as I drink it the lacing on the side of the glass is impressive. The nose is impressive, too. Floral and spicy at the same time, with a hint of caramel sweetness. Flavor is pretty intense. Very evident spice, a little bit of the caramel sweetness and some citrus. The spice and citrus are from the fresh hops, the caramel from malt. The beer is pretty well balanced. Fresh hopping gives you the front flavors of the hops--the florals, the spice, all the really volatile flavors that are muted in dried hops--without the bitteness and acid that massive amounts of dried hops imparts. There's a good mouthfeel too, especially without the acid. The beer is smoother than average for a pale ale.

All in all, an impressive offering that I wish was available year round...but you can only get it in autumn and winter. Makes me glad I live in the Northwest, and makes me look forward to getting back into the brewing industry so I can try making some.