"harvest ale" news and stories

At the close of August and September, the hops fields of the Pacific Northwest are abuzz as farmers rush to harvest their aromatic crop. Since hops decompose quickly, these flowering cones are typically kiln-dried and consigned to storage. However, some of the just-plucked hops are rushed to breweries, where they become fall's fleeting pleasure: fresh-hopped beer.

Unlike lip-ripping IPAs, these brews are more delicate and nuanced, boasting a grassy character. Mainly, they hail from the Pacific Northwest, not far from the farms where the hops are grown. Deschutes' Hop Trip, Sierra Nevada's Harvest and BridgePort's Hop Harvest are all superb. That said, one of my favorite fresh-hop beers is brewed in Grand Rapids, Michigan, at Founders Brewing. Here, creating the fab Harvest Ale requires serious logistical juggling. "We're in constant communication with our suppliers to know when the hops will arrive at our back door," says Dave Engbers, Founders' director of marketing. "As soon as the hops are harvested, they're overnighted to the brewery."

Along with "organic" beers -- yesterday's topic du jour -- another phrase far more brewers have been throwing about recently is "wet hops."

Why wet? Well, the name is somewhat self-explanatory. Typically hops are dried before they are packed, shipped and stored to await the brewing process. Hops is a plant (the flower of a plant technically), and anyone who's ever forgotten a fern for too long knows plants become distinctly different when they're dead. The theory behind wet hops is that as soon as the flowers are picked oils, resins and flavors begin to dry up, so by going direct from the bine to the brew kettle, your hops will pack more punch.

The trick works -- beers brewed with wet hops hold more of their distinct flavors -- somewhat begging the question, Why doesn't everyone do it? Well, price is a factor. And unless your ale needs some serious hoppiness, a lot of that subtlety is going to be drowned in malts regardless. Also hop varietals can be pretty picky in where they will grow. But even when everything else works out, the schematics are a pain. Every hour those hops hang out, dryness sets in: They have to find their way to the brewery in a hurry. So brewers looking to use wet hops need a field nearby and the dedicated manpower to make it happen.

After the jump, hear about an accessible example of a beer brewed with wet hops: Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale.