Here are the next three fresh hop beers I drank and scribbled some notes about. All beers were picked up in cans to enjoy at home, naturally. In this batch are some nice beers from Breakside Brewery, Matchless Brewing, and Fort George Brewery.

Fresh Kids Fresh Hop IPA – Breakside Brewery

This one’s a fresh hop hazy IPA, brewed with fresh El Dorado hops. I’m not sure if there were multiple Fresh Kids variants with other hops or not; I don’t see any others listed online. This one was 6.6% ABV. The beer was canned on September 4, and I drank it the 21st. My notes:

Fully hazy, dirty fruit juice color. Nose is fruity—stone fruit—apricots, overripe peaches, with some pineapple, and chives (allium). Flavor is more allium and spicy, with chives and mustard greens coming to mind. Peach pit woody note, some green flavor/freshness that’s a bit grassy. Reads more like a standard hazy/NEIPA on the edge of hop burn than “fresh” per se.

CSA Farm Harvest Fresh Hop Ale – Matchless Brewing

I’ve been seeing more and more of Matchless’s beers on the shelves, but I haven’t tried many yet. The CSA Farm Harvest was brewed with fresh Centennial and Bravo hops, though the labeling makes it ambiguous if the Bravo hops are actually fresh or not. The description from Untappd reads:

Fresh from Washington, Fresh Centennial cones from CLS Farms meet Roy Farms’ Bravo hops and Skagit Valley Malting’s Copeland Pale and Vienna malts; making this an exclusively Washington-grown ingredients beer! There is nothing like that first fresh hop of the year!

It’s a relatively easy-drinking pale ale with 5.2% ABV. It was canned on September 7, and I drank it on the 21st. My notes:

Golden color, bright, touch of haze. Fine off-white head. Good bright aroma, floral with some flower nectar and some apple blossom with a touch of herbal spice. Flavor is full of greens that remind me of wild greens salad, with some white pepper, wild mustard, resin. Nice background bitterness in the balance and easy drinking.

Fresh IPA – Fort George Brewery

Fort George infused Fresh IPA with Strata hops this year; Strata and Centennial seem to be the popular choices thus far, among the beers I’ve been able to drink. Here’s the brewery’s description:

Every year we choose a new fresh hop for this beer. This year we chose fresh Stratas from Indie Hops. Fresh IPA utilizes a concise malt bill to focus your attention on those freshly harvested Northwest hops. From the bine, to the can, to your taste buds in just a matter of days.

The beer is 6.4% IBUs, and was packaged on September 8. I drank it on September 23. My notes:

Golden honey color, decent clarity. Getting that catty/sweaty aroma I’ve found in other Strata-hopped beers this year, though it’s a bit mellow. Some spiciness and dewey garden notes. Nicely crisp with delicious savory herbal notes, of radish greens, squash blossoms, maybe cilantro or Italian parsley. Tasty and quite good.