Fresh Hop

Up until this year, Fall for me meant Octoberfests.  Now I have a new indulgence...Fresh Hop IPA's.  Any beer brewed to celebrate the hop harvest has to be good, and most breweries are now doing it, including Left Hand Warrior, Surly Wet and Founder's Harvest, which I thought was spectacular last year and we hope to have in store soon.  If you haven't had a fresh hop IPA, you're missing out.  The crisp flavor from the newly harvested hop cones is something special. My favorite so far is Two Brother's Heavy Handed ($10.99 6-pack), a September-December release of 5 varieties from the Warrenville, Illinois brewery.  You can pull the lot number off the bottle and go to their site to find out which corresponding hops are in it.  The lot we have in store has Willamette, and they are also releasing some with Cascade, with some others available on tap.   This IPA pours a dark amber color, with an initial piney hop blast that is backed up by just enough caramel malt sweetness to round it out perfectly.  There's also a little citrus in there to make me happy, and I'd count this among my favorites from Two Brothers. My recommendation: suck up some fresh hop IPA's while you can.