As the hop harvest in WA closes out, the state's drinkers have been spoilt with a slew of fresh hop beers. As expected, they celebrate the hop harvest but also bring attention to WA's growing number of hop growers. One of those, Great Southern Hops, has brewed a few beers off the back of their 2024 harvest, including this Cryogenic Wet Hop IPA with Boston Brewing and WA liquor retailer Grain Cru. It also comes touting a new strategy for the South West brewers in an attempt to get those fresh hops singing.
The team at Boston have experimented with freeze-drying freshly picked hops with liquid nitrogen before smashing said hops, opening the flowers, and releasing as much of their lupulin potential as possible.
West Coast-leaning stylistically, this fresh hop-loaded number offers up subtle citrus, pineapple and sweet capsicum aromatics. On tasting, a lighter body with modest bitterness and rounded hop characters such as grassiness, soft herbs, grapefruit and sweet berry are to the fore, with lingering pine and melon. The hop characters are impressively clean and clear, with persisting citrus peel and green tea completing the picture.
While fresh hop beers aren’t a new concept, and neither are collaborations, there’s a lot to love about WA’s booming hop growing industry and the support it receives from local craft brewers. The industry is small but continues to see growth, with beers like Boston’s Wet Hop Cryogenic IPA helping to push the cause.
Jono Outred
Published April 12, 2024 2024-04-12 00:00:00
