Organic and Local Fresh Hops
ORGANIC & LOCAL FRESH HOPS
The best season in beer is upon us: Fresh Hop Season!
Since Aslan is a fully USDA organic brewery, the process looks a liiiiiittle different, but for the most part, we go through the same steps as most other breweries to make fresh hop beers.
First Off, What Does Fresh Hop Mean?
Fresh Hop beers are made with the whole hop cone as opposed to the pelletized version of hops. Pelletized hops last much longer and are much more concentrated in flavor and aroma, while fresh hops tend to be lighter in fruity hop flavor and aroma and, instead, are more vegetal and grassy. The fresh hop season lasts only a few months, usually from September to November.
See how close the hops we use are grown!
Where Does Aslan Get Fresh Hops?
Being in Washington, we are lucky to live so close to the largest hop-growing region in the world: Yakima Valley! Each year, we drive out there to pick up hops and drive back and throw them in the boil back in the brewery. This year, our Fresh Hop Kolsch will be made from Chinook hops from Roy Farms.
We also get the hops for Charlie Foxtrot, our Fresh Hop IPA, from Growing Veterans in Lynden. Growing Veterans is a USDA-certified farm and non-profit organization. Their mission is to help veterans have a holistic transition home into our communities after military service. We have been working with them since 2018 and are so glad to continue to work with them this year!
Organic Hops = Later Release Date
The biggest thing that differentiates our organic fresh hops from others is that our fresh hop beers come out a bit later than others. Since we don’t buy from farms that use pesticides, we have to allow the hops to lead the harvest, which usually means a delayed release time compared to other breweries. We usually get to pick up our organic hops towards the middle or end of September which means a end of September/ beginning of October beer release date.
We love this time of year and can’t wait to share our fresh hop beers with you!
