PORTLAND, Ore.— Baerlic Brewing released Fresh Hop Punk Rock Time IPA release on Tuesday, September 3 at 4 p.m. at its southeast Portland Brewery & Taproom.
About the Beer
This version of our award-winning Punk Rock Time IPA is cold condition’d on 6lbs/BBL of fresh from the farm Strata hops from our dear pals at Indie Hops. Packed full of watermelon and overripe tropical fruit and just the right amount of that fresh hop ‘green’ note layered over a soft and crisp malt body. And damn it if we don’t say, this is friggin’ delicious! 6.2% ABV
About the Process
Fresh hops are best in the Pacific NW because of our close proximity to all the hop farms scattered throughout the Willamette and Yakima Valleys. On the day of hop harvest, we drive down to the farm and pick these freshies right off the conveyor belt that leads to the kiln room—or the room where the hops are dried out to lock in particular flavors/aromas and to create storability for brewing year-round. If not dried out, they will begin to wilt and mold within a short time. And because of this perishability, it is absolutely time sensitive to get the best flavor and aroma in our beer, so we brewers must act quick.
After the hour or so drive from the farm back to the brewery, we pick through the hops to pull out anything undesirable—wilted or browned cones, leaves, stems and so on. Then we load em up into big mesh bags and throw em in the tank. After purging the tank with CO2, we transfer finished beer onto the freshies where the beer will stay conditioning on the hops until the flavor and aroma is just right. We pull samples and when the flavor and aroma is right where we want it, we transfer the beer off of the fresh hops as fast as we can. Then we cold crash, carbonate and drink!