Fresh Hop Beers of SW Washington’s North Bank
As the hop harvest nears the midway point, the brewers of southwest Washington’s north bank are getting in on the fun of fresh hop seasonals just as North Bank Beer Week kicks off on Thursday, September 7th 2023. Fresh Hop beers are made just once a year (we don’t count cryo frozen hops or extracts) when the hop harvest takes place in August - September with undried, pre-kilning, whole cone hops that are not processed/pelletized in any way, so that the volatile compounds and oils haven’t distilled and concentrated yet.
Use this as your fresh hop guide to the 2023 fresh hop beer releases from Vancouver, Washington to White Salmon, and if you are a brewery we missed feel free to hit us up at newschoolbeer@gmail.com to be added.
TRAP DOOR BREWING
CO-HOP "RAD90" Hazy IPA released September 6th
The 7th Annual Co-Hop IPA invites Trap Door guests to bring in loads fo their own home-grown hops. These hops are grown from rhizomes provided by Trap Door as part of the annual program. Althought dozens and dozens of patrons participate, the beer is suplemented by fresh Strata hops from Coleman Ag. This one got an extra kick of Cryo Mosaic on the back end and it's bursting with oily fresh hops and citrus flavors. Head Brewer, Jake Watt, wants to send a shout out - "Thanks to all our co-hop farmers!" 6.5% ABV
GLOWED UP: FRESH EDITION releasing September 20th
Roy Farms harvest-fresh pellets (aka fresh kilned hops) allowed Trap Door to use the exact same 2023 crop for hot-side hopping and dry-hopping. This provides an exciting showcase of a single crop of Amarillo with all the sweet fruitiness, orange zest and grapefruit flavors and aromas you should expect from Amarillo. 6.8% ABV
FRESH TO DEATH releasing September 20th
Trap Door teamed up with TAPS for this collaboration freshie. TAPS are two taprooms in Clark County - TAPS Beer Reserve in Ridgefield and TAPS Growler House in East Vancouver. TAPS owner Kevin Summers shares the same favorite hop with Trap Door's head brewer Jake Watt. That's Mosaic. The signature berry fruit profile is what they're going for with these fresh hops from Coleman Ag. 7% ABV
VICE BEER
THE FRESHMAKER releasing Tuesday, August 29th
Stayin' Fresh, Stayin' Cool, this is a West Coast IPA featuring Centennial hops from Crosby Hop Farm with blossoming aromatics of pine and field flowers before washing over the palate with the essence of citrus peel, tangerine and pine needles. 7% ABV
ERIK FRESHSTRATA releasing Tuesday, August 29th
Like the name suggests, this Hazy IPA is packed with fresh Strata hops from Coleman Agriculture. If citrus and passion fruit were dank and kept bad guys off the highways of Southern California, then citrus would taste like Erik Freshstrata. 6.5% ABV
FRESH TO DEATH releasing Friday, September 1st
Nothing feels quite like a new pair of fresh sneakers. And nothing tastes quite like a West Coast Pilsner fresh-hopped with Centennial from Crosby Hop Farm. A pilsner that throws wafts of pine and orange peel from 3 bar stools away. The low alcohol-by-volume leaves a delicate blank canvas for slick sips of pine and citrus.
EMILIO FRESHTEVEZ releasing Friday, September 8th
The brewery that brought you Breakfast Club Mimosa Sour is releasing an ode to one of the main actors of the cult classic by way of a fresh hop Hazy IPA with fresh Mosaic from Indie Hops. Blueberries and a tropical medley of passion fruit and papaya carry from nose-to-mouth in this top-net slap shot. The first of 4 freshies from Vice dropping during SW Washington's Northbank Beer Week. Quack quack! 6.8% ABV
TODAY'S SECRET WORD IS: FRESH releasing Friday, September 15th
You know what to do anytime someone says the secret word... SCREAM REAL LOUD! The third Fresh Hop Hazy IPA from Vice Beer will feature Citra Hops from Indie Hops in an ode to the late Paul Reubens' character of Pee Wee Herman. Look for this citrus bomb to make some noise at its release during Northbank Beer Week. 6.5% ABV
YA FRESH, YA HOP & YA DON'T STOP releasing September 16
The first of two side-by-side West Coast IPAs with low ABV brewed in collaboration with Baerlic Brewing for the 5th Annual Brewing Bridges Collaboration Fest to close out Northbank Beer Week on September 16th. The low-ABV is to feature the Indie Hops Citra on a bright, crisp backdrop. 6% ABV
YA FRESH, YA HOP & YA DON'T QUIT releasing September 16
The second of the Brewing Bridges collabs with Baerlic will follow the same malt bill with a yet-to-be-named hop from Indie Hops based on upcoming harvest availability on brew day. 6% ABV
54-40 BREWING
CRYSTAL BLONDE PERSUASION released August 22nd
54-40 has created a delicate and lovely blonde ale with notes of citrus, pine, and spice from fresh Crystal hops from Coleman Ag in the Willamette Valley. 4.8% ABV
BACKWOODS BREWING
OUTER MY SPACE HAZY IPA releasing September 8th
A crisp and light hazy IPA with subtle notes of berry and melon with a big citrusy finish from the Citra hops, courtesy of Carpenter Farms in Yakima, WA. 6.5% ABV
BROTHERS CASCADIA BREWING
AMARILLO SLIM releasing first week of October
A new iteration of an annual freshie for the Brothers, this West Coast IPA is all hot-side hops. The fresh Amarillo hops from Crosby, as the name suggests, aim to bring out nots of tropical citrus, grapefruit peel and big floral bouquet on the nose. 6.7% ABV
FRESH ATTIRE releasing the first week of October
There's something in the water in Vancouver as you'll find several fresh hop beers named with Beastie Boys references. This one will have fresh Strata hops from Crosby Hop Farms to usher in flavors of mandarin and berry with a dank edge. Head Brewer Eric Van Tassel said, "You can quote me on this: It's probably going to be fucking delicious." 6.1% ABV
EVERYBODY’S BREWING
FRESH N' CHRONIC IPA releasing Friday, September 8th
Everybody's Brewing is remixing their award-winning Cryo-Chronic IPA using massive amounts of fresh Citra hops from Loza Farms in Wapato, WA in the Yakima Valley. Light one up for notes of orange and fresh pineapple with a resinous finish. 6.9% ABV
HEAD STASH IPA releasing Friday, September 8th
An annual favorite, Head Stash, returns with fresh Simcoe hops from Loza Farms. This IPA is full-bodied, resinous, and piney. Citrus flavors of orange and grapefruit mingle with a light malt sweetness. 6.6%
FORTSIDE BREWING
COLD DOSE COLD IPA released August 17th
Fortside Brewing was early to the party with this TDH (Triple Dry Hopped) fresh hop cold IPA. This beer received more Hallertauer hops than should be legal thanks to Goschie Farms near Mt. Angel. Look for notes of guava, lime zest, grapefruit and blood orange. Best of all, head brewer Paul Thurston says it provides, "The most delightful hop burps!" 6% ABV
FRESH CUT released August 29th
This juicy IPA gets dried Citra and El Dorado on the hot side before the groove kicks in. The first dry hop is more of the Hallertauer hops from Goschie Farms, then days later another dry-hopping of Centennial from (you guessed it) Goschie Farms. A beer that you'll go back to again and again like the best cut on your favorite vinyl. 8% ABV
FRESH HOPPED ORANGE WHIP released August 31st
One of Vancouver's greatest hits is Orange Whip Hazy IPA. It was early to the hazy game and a stunner from the start. Now it has an encore presentation with fresh Strata and Centennial hops from Gayle herself at Goschie Farms. This beer bursts with banging notes of ripe melon, grapefruit, and citrus. 5.9% ABV
HEATHEN BREWING
FRESH HOP PILSNER released August 31st
Heathen has always created at least 2 fresh hop IPAs each season, so a fresh hop pilsner (aptly named) is a tasty surprise. This crispy boi is bursting with floral hop aromas from a huge cold-side addition of Willamette hops from Coleman Agriculture via Willamette Valley Hops. 5.2% ABV
FRESH HOP TRANSGRESSION releasing September 12
Heathen will take their flagship IPA to the next level with copious addtions of fresh Amarillo hops fresh hops from Crosby Hop Farm. 7.5%
SULTRY: MOSAIC
According to the brewing team at Heathen, this is their favorite beer of the year! It won a silver medal last year for Fresh Hop Strong Pale at the Washington Beer Awards. 6.0% ABV
IRRELEVANT BEER
PREMIUM PLUSH releasing on or near September 18th
Vancouver's newest almost-open-any-day-now brewery is entering the fresh hop game strong. Their first entry is a West Coast IPA with 200lbs of hot-side-added Simcoe from Coleman Agriculture's Mt. Angel Farm. It'll be light and meant for easy-drinking with notes of passion fruit and kiwi behind a dank scent up front.
INDIFFERENT LIFE releasing at the end of September
The second fresh offering from Irrelevant will be a hazy IPA featuring fresh Mosaic hops, also from Coleman Ag. As of this writing, Brewery Ops Director Sebastian Lynch indicated it's too early in development to accurately describe what the finished product will be. But we'll go ahead and say that you're going to want to hunt it down.
LOOWIT BREWING
LANDO HOPRISSIAN releasing September 8th
Suave and smooth, you might think this beer would double-cross you, but it won't. Cascade and Citra with fresh Centennial from Goschie Farms provide notes of ripe citrus, grapefruit peel and fresh pine needles. This beer truly belongs with us here among the clouds. 6.4%ABV
NORTHWOOD BREWERY
HOMEGROWN IPA releases the week of September 4th
Local beer doesn't get much more local than this. Co-Head Brewer Gary Gross harvests his own Cascade and Mt. Hood freshies from his own backyard. This IPA has a clean malt backing for these homegrown hops to shine with citrus, pine and spice. 6.69% ABV
