The northern hemisphere’s annual hop harvest recently came to a close, and we are still sipping on the last of the fresh hop beers of 2020 like Threshold Brewing & Blending’s Genetic Mosaic IPA. Like everything in 2020, the hop harvest was much different than years past. What started with a pandemic canceled hop selection ended with windstorms, wildfires and smoke that damaged or destroyed small parts of the annual hop crop.

Amidst the smoke that engulfed much of the west coast for over a week, many brewers still braved the dangerous air conditions to pick-up their fresh hops. Oregon brewers efforts paid off with world-class harvest beers that are almost exclusively brewed in the pacific northwest.

Threshold Brewing & Blending in Portland, OR was making only their second ever fresh hop beer in 2020. Genetic Mosaic fresh hop IPA was made with 100% fresh Mosaic hops from B&D Hop Farm in St. Paul, Oregon. The New School went along for the ride and took a tour through the farms as they were busy processing hops from the bines.