Deschutes Brewery Hop Trip (Bond Street Series)

With the impending hop shortage upon us and quickly becoming reality for both the industry and consumers, all anyone can do is hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Support your local brewery may become a bigger part of our lives with some breweries not getting the hops they want or any hops at all. What about the luxury beers, like wet (fresh) hop beers? What will happen next year? Will breweries be able to keep this style alive?

My last fresh hop beer for this year is Deschutes Brewery's Hop Trip. They gathered 4,000 pounds of fresh Crystal hops from the NW, that is about 800 pounds of dried hops used in several batches. A quick guesstimate ... if they brewed four batches in their 50bbl brewhouse with 1,000 pounds of fresh hops in each batch, that is the rough equivalent of four pounds of dried hops per barrel. Let's all hope next years crop is a banner one.

As soon as I popped the cap there was a pleasant fresh hop aroma, an aroma that you definitely don't get with dried hops. Glowing tawny hue with a mild chill haze that disappears after the brew warms up a little. Good frothing rocky head with a very sticky lace. Very aromatic with citric juicy overtones; Clementines and mandarin oranges come to mind with a hint of rind as well. Moderate body with a semi- smooth mouth feel. Oily fresh hop character with mild citric, faint pine and a wild floral tone in the back. Hop bitterness is not sharp at all but pleasant with a balancing character. Pale malt flavor has biscuity and bready flavors throughout. Hint of fruitiness with a drying woody character from the hops in the middle. Fresh herbs and edible flowers in the semi-dry hop saturated finish.

An easy session ale for me, I could see drinking this all of the time ... why can't hops be a year round crop. Its just not fair. Hop trip is an excellent example of what a fresh hop beer is all about.

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beeradvocates
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I like their Mirror Pond Ale. Good hop bite. Reminds me of homebrews I've made. It was recently on sale, so I picked up a lot of it.

Flatheads forev... oh, sorry, HOPS forever!

Reply to
dull knife

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