Photo from Two Beers

This post is from Joel VandenBrink, owner and brewmaster of Two Beers Brewing Company. Their fresh hop beer is pouring at their tap room starting today, and it is likely the first fresh hop beer to pour in Seattle this season. I love me some fresh hops, and they have a great story behind theirs as well. Cheers to Joel and crew for their devotion to the fresh hop this year!

The Story of the Two Beers Brewing Co. Fresh Hop 2010
Once there were these hops.  Some said they were magical, others just loved their smell or their taste.  But all agreed, that there is one time of year where hops take center stage.  Where nothing else matters, except for this – How fast can the hops get from the field to the kettle.

Meet Tyler Pickel, Tyler comes from a hop growing family and is an assistant brewer at Two Beers Brewing Co.  He loves hops just as much as everyone you know – combined. Being born and raised in the Yakima Valley he has untold stories of hop harvests and more.  And between himself, his dad, and his uncle they have everything covered, from hop aroma, to agriculture secrets, to secrets to the right time to harvest, and much more.

So when Tyler got a call that the hop variety known as “centennials” was ready to harvest it only took him  nanosecond to hop in his truck and drive the three hours to the Yakima Valley to get some.  But you see, harvest hadn’t officially begun and wasn’t set to begin for 5 more days.  So Tyler called his Dad and said, “Can I just take the whole vine?”  And indeed, this is what happened.  There was a quick conversation as to “how many vines do we need?”  But after some quick discussion and calculations it was determined we needed 10 vines worth of hops.  They threw them in the bed of his Silverado Truck and he “drove the speed limit” back to Seattle.

Upon arriving into Seattle the hops were unloaded from the truck and strung in the walkin cooler to keep them as fresh as physically possible.  A few hours later Joel showed up and started to brew batch one of Fresh Hop 2010.  A facebook post was updated seeking ready hands and willing hearts and within a couple hours 10 people were huddled around hop vines picking the hops one by one from the vine.  Four hours later over 70 pounds of hops were picked and ready to spread their love via the hopback.

And now, you will soon enjoy the fruits of this adventure.  We thank you for buying the product that we had fun making and trust that you will enjoy drinking it.

Details of Fresh Hop 2010
Grains Used:
Washington Premium 2-Row, Munich, Vienna, Crystal 40, Crystal , White Wheat.

Hops Used in Kettle:
Centennial, Magnum, Cascade, Simcoe, Amarillo

Fresh Hops Used:
Centenniel

IBU’s: 60 ABV: 6.8%