Having written about fresh hops for around 15 years I sometimes wonder if there’s anything new to say — but after talking to American hop professor Tom Shellhammer recently, I find myself not only wanting to sample as many fresh hop beers as possible, to try all the hop expressions, all the regional differences.
My conversation with Tom re-informed what I already know while reinforcing how little I do know about hops.
So I thought I’d revisit some assumptions and descriptors applied to fresh hop beers.
Let’s start with …
DANK
My main quibble about the use of this term (and don’t get me wrong, I love a dank beer) is that it gets over-expected at fresh hop time. Not all fresh hops will exhibit dank character, so choose your can or pint with that in mind.
As Tom pointed out, dank is adjacent to onion-garlic on the continuum of hop aromas and flavours and much is dependent on when the hops are harvested. Some hops more easily enter dank territory — Nelson Sauvin for example. But I don’t think you’ll get much dank from a Mouteka-hopped beer.
FERAL
I like feral as a descriptor. Fresh hops are alive, almost animated in the glass, bringing a different quality of expression to your beer. I used to make the “dried herbs versus fresh herbs” analogy but lately I’ve been thinking about it via the filters on social media apps. On one hand, you have a nice picture, on the other, you’ve got a “vivid dramatic” filter on it.
STICKY
See also: furry, pithy, abrasive. Fresh hops are textural and the green-ness of the whole cones brings a tannic, grippy, rough feeling to your tongue and teeth. That furry feeling on your teeth after a good fresh hop beer is just what you’re looking for.
IF IT TASTES LIKE COMPOST ☹ …
Fresh hops degrade quickly, like inside a day. So if your fresh hop beer tastes like compost it’s probably because composting hops went into it!
NOT EVERY FRESH HOP BEER HAS TO BE AN IPA
I know, I know, IPA is an inescapable web but honestly, some of the best fresh hop beers I’ve had were pilsners and pale ales. IPAs are great for super-saturation of fresh hop character but there’s real joy in experiencing the subtle differences in beers that require balance and finesse.
BUT ALSO …
Fresh hop season only happens once a year and there’s a feeling of dammit: dial those hops up to 11 and let me feel the green.
