Fresh Hops

This style-spanning yearly celebration of the harvest is brewed in many ways and in many places—but the best place in the world to appreciate fresh-hopped beers is the Pacific Northwest.

Not every beer needs to chase the latest trends and tech—consider Sierra Nevada’s Celebration IPA, the fresh-hopped seasonal that remains reassuringly old-school. here, chief brewer Brian Grossman explains how the team works to keep its profile consistent in the face of changing tastes and changing hops.

Harvest-hopped beers are a seasonal delight no longer limited to breweries near the hop fields—nor even to the harvest season. Here’s a look at the logistics and tech that are expanding the harvest in time and space.

RipeLocker has revolutionized the craft-brewing industry by offering a technology-based solution to extend the freshness of wet hops for up to 60 days.

Some hop kilns are more modern, while others are more old-fashioned and hands-on. In this clip from his video course, Single Hill cofounder and head brewer Zach Turner guides us on a behind-the-scenes look at the kilns of the Yakima Valley.

Brewers wouldn't get their hops—fresh or otherwise—without the unusual machines that pick them. Here’s a look at how these pickers work on a few different farms.

Single Hill cofounder and head brewer Zach Turner explains the difference between fresh-hopping and wet-hopping, laying out a few different ways that breweries tend to use them on the hot side and cold side.

Join Single Hill cofounder and head brewer Zach Turner on an expedition to the Yakima Valley at harvest time to pick up the freshest hops, then take them back to the brewery and add them—in different forms and different ways—to beers brewed on the same day.

Homebrew expert Brad Smith, author of the Beersmith homebrewing software and the voice behind the Beersmith podcast, is here to help you brew a great beer with fresh hops.

Wet hops are a flavorful argument against having everything, all the time. Here’s the lowdown on how professional brewers get the best results with freshly harvested hops.

For Enchanted Circle Brewing’s, Kyle-Bartholemew Yonan, hops harvest is time to hit the trails and canyons of New Mexico to forage for cones of the native Neomexicanus. Here’s the recipe for the ale he brewed up with this year’s batch.

Based on available ingredients, the recipe for this wet-hops lager from Jack’s Abby in Framingham, Massachusetts, changes every year.

Try this tasty wet-hops harvest ale recipe from Crazy Mountain Brewing Company in Vail, Colorado.

For growers around the world, the humble hops cone isn’t simply a vital ingredient in beer. It’s a livelihood.

In farm fields and residential backyards across the country and around the world, hops harvest 2014 is well underway.