Every year, Full Sail’s brewers patiently wait for the days until the hop harvest is ready to go. When the call from the farm finally comes, the brewers set out in their truck for the hop fields. They bring back the freshest of hops which go directly into the waiting brew kettle. Just hours away from the farmer’s field, these fresh hops are fragrant with grassy, herbal, citrus, and floral aromas. “As brewers we have so many favorite seasons and brews, but there is something so uniquely and deeply satisfying about this harvest collaboration with our farmers. This season we celebrate the first Cascade hops with Fresh Hop Pilsner. This beer highlights the brewer’s art as well as nature’s gift,” said Full Sail Executive Brewmaster, Jamie Emmerson. The hops were locally grown at Sodbuster Farms, which is a Salmon-Safe certified hop grower.
“As brewers we are always reliant on nature’s bounty, from the quality of the barley harvest to how the hops weathered through the Oregon summer. But no moment brings this relationship to sharper focus than our fresh hop beers. When we brew with fresh hops, timing is everything,” added Emmerson. “There’s such a small window of time to take advantage of these fresh hops. We need to get them into the brew kettle within hours of picking while their oils and resins are still at their peak. It takes five to seven times more hops to brew a fresh hop beer, but it’s absolutely worth it. There are distinct flavors and aromas that you can only get brewing with fresh hops.”
According to Emmerson, each hop variety reaches peak maturity at a different time during harvest. “For this year’s Fresh Hop Pilsner, we used freshly harvested Cascades. This draft-only brew has a fresh herbal character and classic pils hop aroma, making a refreshing pilsner-style beer with a smooth body and crisp, clean finish.” ABV 6.0% IBU 60
Full Sail’s Fresh Hop beers are a hop lover’s delight. The tiny lupulin glands inside the hop flowers, packed with sticky resins and essential oils, provide all that wonderful bitterness, flavor, and aroma. These beers are all about hops; wet hopped, kettle hopped, and hop back hopped, with 150 pounds of hops per batch. That’s eight pounds of hops per barrel! Most products this fresh last only a short time. Please enjoy while you can.
Full Sail’s Fresh Hop Pilsner is part of Full Sail’s Brewmaster Reserve series. It will be available in limited quantities September to November on draft in pubs throughout the Pacific Northwest and at Full Sail’s Brew Pub in Hood River and at their Riverplace brewery in Portland, Oregon. They will also be available at various fresh hop beer festivals throughout the Pacific Northwest including the Hood River Hops Festival, the Sisters’ Fresh Hop Festival (Sept 28th), the Yakima Fresh Hop Festival & Portland Fresh Hop Festival, (Oct 5th).
About Full Sail Brewing Company: The independent and employee-owned Full Sail Brewery is perched on a bluff in Hood River, Oregon, overlooking the most epic wind and kite surfing spot in the world. At this very moment our specialists in the liquid refreshment arts are crafting barley and hops into your next beer. Among the company’s most popular brews are Full Sail Amber, IPA, Limited Lager Series, Pub Ale Series, Session Premium, Session Black, and Session Fest lager. Founded in 1987, the Full Sail crew has been fermenting godlike nectar for 26 years. Committed to brewing great beer and sustainable practices their award winning brews are now available in 31 states. The Full Sail Brew Pub is open seven days a week. Swing by for a pint, grab a bite, tour the brewery, or just soak up the view. http://www.fullsailbrewing.com
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