Zoiglhaus Brewing drops first of 4 Fresh Hop beers this season

Outer southeast Portland, Oregon’s acclaimed Zoiglhaus Brewery have just released their Fresh Hop Kolsch in 16oz cans. This is the first of 4 fresh hop beers with release dates revealed below for this seasons crop of hop harvest beers. Zoiglhaus has consistently racked up awards for their German-style and Fresh Hop in the Oregon Beer Awards and other competitions, and is happy to reveal what they have in store this season as well as sharing some of their methods for brewing with fresh hops.

The freshly harvested hops are brought to the brewery within 60 minutes of being separated from the bines. Zoiglhaus brewmaster/founder Alan Taylor is a big believer in adding fresh hops during the hot side of the brewing process to reduce chances of infection, allow more flexibility with potential last minute harvest time changes, and simplify the process.

Zoiglhaus brews 2-3 batches back to back, so they store the hops in their cold walk-in cooler while the brew starts up. Since the brewery does not have a hop back to recirculate the hot wort through, they instead use the lauter tun based on a suggestion from Gigantic Brewing’s Van Havig. The lauter tun is filled with hops right after the spent grains are removed

“We fill the lauter tun with the fresh hop charge, send the post boil wort into it, turn on the rakes at a proprietary speed , then let it rest for a few minutes before returning the fresh hop-saturated wort back to the kettle for a whirlpool rest. After that, everything progresses as with our conventional beers,” says Zoiglhaus co-owner/brewmaster Alan Taylor.

Zoiglhaus Brewing’s 2022 fresh hop beers all use fresh hops from the legendary Goschie Farms in Silverton, Oregon.

Fresh Hop Kölsch - Now Available On Draft and in 16oz Cans

This silver and bronze OBA medal winner is a fresh hopped variation on a regular unfiltered Zoiglhaus Kölsch recipe. The lighter, breadier, more malt driven beer has proved to be a terrific base to showcase a spicier fresh hop like Oregon grown Tettnanger that comes from German heritage. Zoiglhaus brewmaster Alan Taylor brewed and lived in Germany and developed this recipe based on his time ther. Brewed with an authentic Kolsch yeast strain brought back from his travels, this is a crisp and lightly fruity beer with whiffs of fresh baked bread and grassy and citrusy fresh hops. 4.9% abv and 20 IBU.

Oktoberfresh - Tentative release date 09.02.22

Perhaps Zoiglhaus’s best known beer, Oktoberfresh TM is brand unto itself. This seasonal best-seller marries German malts with northwest grown Abiqua hops from Goscie Farms (this is a varietal descended from Hallertauer grown in the US). Deep orange in color from Munich malt, with a rich and distinctive German character brought about from grains and yeast, the Oktoberfresh starts malty but ends dry and hoppy with a slight roast bite. Abiqua hops lend a mild spiciness, and delicate floral note to this autumn seasonal favorite.

Fresh Hop Sterling Pils - Tentative Release on 09.20.22

Starting with their flagship unfiltered, slightly hoppy, and house favorite German-style Pilsner the Zoiglhaus team freshens it up with a blast of northwest grown Sterling hops which are a daughter of classic pils hops Saaz from Czech and northwest born Cascade. The fresh hops add an herbal note, floral aroma and flavor, and a slight twing of citrus with that memorable green fresh grown hop flavor. 4.9% ABV.

Awesomer Sauce Hazy IPA - Tentative Release on 09.26.22

The regular version of Awesome Sauce is a year-round hazy IPA from Zoiglhaus’ sister brewery Ascendant Beer Company (originally known as Pints Brewing in NW Portland’s Old Town district.) The always available version of Awesome Sauce has the grapefruit and tangerine hop flavors that fans of this style know and love, but the “Awesomer” sauce version takes it to another dimension with Azacca fresh hops. Mango, citrus, lemon, pine, berries, and tropical fruit flavors and aromas are all coming off of these un-hops from Goschie Farms. 6.1% abv and 42 IBUs.

Zoiglhaus Brewing is named after the tradition of Zoigl brewing which began in the Middle Ages in several small towns in what we now know as Germany. It’s a wonderful historical practice where citizens share a communal brewhouse, then take turns serving their brew to their neighbors from the comfort of their own homes. You can still experience the Zoigl tradition in five tiny towns in Bavaria. The southeast Portland brewpub has recently been transforming the taproom into a food hall, and embarking on a brewery expansion at their location 5716 SE 92nd Ave.
Portland, OR 97266