I’d never tried a “fresh hopped†beer before Great Divide Brewing‘s Fresh Hop Pale Ale. I’m a big fan of using the freshest, highest quality ingredients whenever possible so I wanted to try it out. This is definitely an exceptional pale ale. The color was an awesome orange amber. It smelled great, something which I think fresh hopping might have a decent effect on. It’s definitely hop forward like your typical APA, but it finished nice.
I’d really like to do a side-by-side comparison of the same beer, one made with dried hops and one with fresh hops. I recently discovered that Deschutes Brewery just released a fresh hopped version of their Mirror Pond Pale Ale. If I can get my hands on some I’ll be trying my little experiment for sure.
-Robin