Some exciting news from our pal Spike Buckowski @ Terrapin for one of my favorite beers:
This week, Terrapin Beer Co. brewed one of its most audacious beers: So Fresh & So Green, Green. Released annually at their Hop Harvest Festival, this is a fresh hop (or "wet-hop") beer, meaning it's brewed with freshly picked hops... not an easy task in Athens, Georgia! This adventurous beer began life on a hop farm in Washington State where, on September 17th, the hops for this year's brew were picked and then flown overnight to the brewery in Georgia. The hops arrived at the brewery in large, fragrant cardboard boxes with labels declaring the name of the hop on the sides. These boxes contained something that is highly coveted at the brewery and their arrival brings not only a pungent olfactory overload but the promise of an equally aromatic beer.
Where the delivery truck pulled away Tuesday morning now sat a full pallet of cardboard containers filled with fresh Citra hops. Game on! Fresh hops don't stay fresh for long, so Terrapin brewmaster Brian "Spike" Buckowski began brewing almost immediately. It takes five times as many fresh hop cones to get the same amount of hoppy bitterness you'd get from the dried and pelletized hops the brewery normally uses, so bucket after bucket of hop cones were dumped into each batch of So Fresh & So Green, Green. This labor of love continued around the clock until all batches were brewed and every single one of those fresh hop cones had been transformed into what makes Terrapin's fresh hop beer the brew so many "hop heads" across the Southeast are waiting for.
This year's hop, Citra, is a relatively new strain of hops released in 2007. Known for its heavy aroma of citrus and tropical fruits, this aptly named variety has recently gained in popularity.
"Citra's relatively high alpha acid content, 11.5%, and its distinctive character make it an especially good choice for a fresh hopped beer," said Buckowski. "I'm really looking forward to seeing what kind of foods people pair this one with."
So Fresh & So Green, Green will be available in 22oz bottles and 1/6 barrel kegs throughout Terrapin's nine state distribution range. Of course, it will also be previewed at the Hop Harvest Festival at the brewery on October 6th. Look for it to hit the shelves in limited quantities around mid-to-late October.
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