This time-honored tradition and popular beer style can be a laborious process with brewers often having to plan out several months or even a year out in advance. Some time during the late summer, brewers will often stop what they’re doing, to harvest fresh hops, also known as wet hops, which are whole cones that must be used within 48 hours of harvest.
If you’re looking for fresh hop beers to enjoy, we have you covered. Enjoy the following fresh hop beer releases from across Colorado!
SEPT. 13-15
TELLURIDE BLUES & BREWS FESTIVAL
Are you making the annual pilgrimage to the Telluride Blues & Brews Festival Sept. 13-15th? Be sure to swing by the Guild’s booth and try some Fresh Hop & Oktoberfest releases from our member breweries across CO!
Fresh Hop Vapor Cave a West Coast IPA | Glenwood Springs Brewpub
350 pounds of Billy Goat Hop Farms award winning Cascade added. That’s 35 pounds per barrel! 7.7% ABV
Fresh Hop Mind Fuzz Hazy IPA | Glenwood Springs Brewpub
50 pounds of Billy Goat Hop Farms Copper hops added. That’s 35 pounds per barrel! 7.7% ABV
Fresh Slope Hazy IPA | Base Camp Beer Works
In partnership w/ Billy Goat Hop Farm, LLC, this beauty is crafted w/ 150 pounds of FRESH COPPER hops & a massive Copper hop dry hop. Juicy, tropical, w/ notes of fruit punch. 5.5% ABV
Junc Fest | Base Camp Beer Works
Classically lagered oktoberfest style festbier. Subtle malt sweetness complimented by notes of bread crust. 5.2% ABV
SEPT. 14
FRESHTOBER FEST AT EMPOURIUM BREWING
5th Annual Freshtober Fest!
Saturday September 14th
Freshtober Fest is back and we’re bringing you some of the freshest hoppy beers in Denver! We’ll be pouring 8 Fresh Hop beers from local breweries through our taps for your enjoyment!
In addition to Fresh Hop beers, we’ll have vendors set up showing local Fresh foods for you to shop! Vendors will be set up from 12pm-6pm.
We’ll have live music all day from 3 different bands! Featuring Jon Ham, Raez & Genetics!
Little Red’s Kitchen will be serving German inspired food for your enjoyment!
Proceeds benefiting St. Francis Center in Denver. We’ll also be collecting gently used jeans to be donated to their shelter!
12-8pm. No tickets necessary and it’s fun for all ages!
SEPT. 21
SOUTHWEST FRESH FEST & HOP PICKING PARTY
Want to thoroughly dive into this seasons’ fresh hops? You definitely will want to mark your calendar for Billy Goat Hop Farm’s Southwest Fresh Fest & Picking Party on Sept. 21st! Party on their hop farm outside of Montrose, CO with local brewers serving up their seasonal fresh hop beers. Live music, shuttles from Montrose, and more!
SEPT. 28
FRESH HOP FEST AT JOYRIDE BREWING
The Joyride Fresh Hop Fest is back and better than ever! We’ll be tapping some of Colorado’s best wet hopped beers alongside one of our own to celebrate the beauty and tradition of fresh hops. No cost for admission, no tokens or tickets, just come on in and order a pint (or sampler) any time during the day. Keep in mind, however, some beers will be more popular and won’t make it more than a few hours.
Participating Breweries:
Broken Compass, Call to Arms, Comrade, FlyteCo, Green Mountain, Joyride, Lady Justice, New Terrain, Odell, Our Mutual Friend, Ratio, Station 26, and Vail
Food Truck: Billy’s Beefy Burgers
FRESH HOP BEER RELEASES
Base Camp Beerworks | Grand Junction | Fresh Slope Hazy IPA
Did you know hops aren’t just for flavor in beer? These green cones are packed with lupulin, a magical resin that adds bitterness, aroma, and antibacterial properties to your favorite brews. And brewer, Holly, at Base Camp is in her happy place this time of year. Fresh Slope Hazy features Billy Goat Hop Farm’s copper hops.
Bristol Brewing Company | Colorado Springs | Shattered Fresh Hop Pale Ale
On the bine one day, picked, shipped, and in the brew within hours of receipt—that’s the magic of this Fresh Hop Pale Ale. Bristol Brewing, in collaboration with Metric Brewing Co., the Colorado Springs brewers flash-froze fresh, whole-cone Strata hops and shattered them by hand to release all the lush dankness. Then the brewers dry-hopped with them in the brite tank for a luscious feast of fresh hoppiness. Or is it happiness? 5.3% ABV. Available on draft at both breweries now in Colorado Springs.
Broken Compass Brewing | Breckenridge | Colorado Fresh hop Pale
Brewed with fresh hops from Billy Goat Hop Farm in Montrose, this brew brings citrusy flavors and floral aromas with hints of spice. On draft now!
The brilliantly sharp aromas and flavors are in this brew will make you feel like you’re strolling through the hop fields. They used Copper, Chinook and Centennial hops to make this delicious brew, freshly plucked off the vine in the wee hours of the morning and then driven to Breck for the brew that day. This once-a-year brew won’t last long, so grab a pint while it’s fresh! 🌿🍺
Call to Arms Brewing | Denver | Janet Reno’s Dance Party Hazy Fresh Hop IPA
Sure it’s a bit of a dated reference, but in a time when patriotism isn’t what it used to be, former US Attorney General Janet Reno still springs eternal.
What began as a flagship Session IPA for Call to Arms Brewing has received a glow-up. After much experimentation and receiving feedback from staff, the CtA team made the decision to evolve their iconic Janet Reno’s Dance Party into a Hazy IPA, and now goes a step further by getting the fresh hop treatment for the first time. Bursting forth with tropical fruit-forward flavors through the use of Strata fresh hops and a mellow easygoing profile much like its namesake public servant with notes of pineapple and fresh peach.
Both beers will be available on-draft in the Call to Arms tasting room by September 20th and Fresh Hop Janet Reno’s Dance Party will also be available in 6-pack cans across Colorado.
Comrade Brewing | Aurora | Fresh Hop Superpower IPA
Fresh Hop Superpower IPA will be available on tap Sept. 11. For this beer, Comrade brewed their flagship Superpower IPA with over 500 pounds of wet hops provided by Billy Goat Hop Farms in Montrose, CO. This beer, which is draft only, is also a 2014 and 2015 Great American Beer Festival Silver Medal winner.
FlyteCo Brewing | Denver | Hop is My Co-Pilot
How far would you go for the freshest of freshies? On August 15, aviation-themed FlyteCo Brewing and their pilots-turned-brewery owners took a hop pilgrimage to Billy Goat Hop Farm. At dawn, they routed a small passenger plane from Denver to Southwest Colorado to gather hops straight off the stems. They turned around and headed back to Denver to add hops to the brew kettle – a whirlwind five hours. It results in the freshest wet hop beer on the market!
Glenwood Springs Brewpub | Glenwood Springs | 2 New Fresh Hop Beers
Fresh Hop Vapor Cave a West Coast IPA: 350 pounds of Billy Goat Hop Farms award winning Cascade added. That’s 35 pounds per barrel! 7.7% ABV
Fresh Hop Mind Fuzz Hazy IPA: 50 pounds of Billy Goat Hop Farms Copper hops added. That’s 35 pounds per barrel! 7.7% ABV
Hideaway Park | Winter Park | Toadally Fresh Wet Hop Pale
Dry hopped with cascade and centennial, then wet hopped with 100 pounds of cascade from Billy Goat Hop Farm in Montrose, CO. From field to kettle in only 8 hours — great hustle guys!
Mountain Tap Brewery | Steamboat Springs | 2 Fresh Hop Beers!
Mountain Tap Brewery in Steamboat Springs kicked off fresh hop season by tapping two fresh hop beers the first week in September. The beers will continue flowing while supplies last, likely well into October.
Elkstone Elixir, a German-style pilsner conditioned with hops grown at Elkstone Farm just 3 miles up the road from Mountain Tap, tapped up on Monday, September 2. The hops were harvested by Elkstone farmers and Mountain Tap brewers early one morning, then added to the brew within hours of being harvested. The result: a crisp beer that drinks light like a lager but with a unique fresh hoppy flavor and aroma
Picking Fresh Hops, a fresh-hop IPA brewed with hops grown at Billy Goat Hop Farm in Montrose, Colorado, tapped up on Friday, September 6. The Magnum, Chinook and Comet hops were harvested by Billy Goat farmers during the evening hours of 8/21/24 then trucked some 240 miles in the wee hours of the morning for a hop rendezvous in Silverthorne with Mountain Tap brewmaster Rich Tucciarone. Then the 100 pounds of hops finished their journey up to Steamboat, where the brew was in process. The cones arrived just in time to be added to the brew kettle.
Mythmaker Brewing | Fort Collins | The Embalmer
Mythmaker out of Fort Collins is releasing The Embalmer, a West Coast Style IPA brewed with fresh Amarillo hops from Crosby Hops. This 6.8% ABV golden in color beer with flavors of sweet orange, lemon, grapefruit, and tropical fruits, releases on Friday, Sept 27 on draft and in 16-ounce cans.
New Terrain Brewing | Golden | Fresh Prints Fresh Hop IPA
Pick, bike, brew, ferment, drink; Fresh Prints Fresh Hop IPA is now pouring at their taproom in Golden. This ridiculously fresh beer utilizes 150lbs of Chinook hops that were biked from the hop farm in Arvada to the brewery. That’s 50lbs more than last year! You can expect a strong dank and piney nose to awaken your senses before a delightfully floral and pleasantly fresh hop flavor takes over your palette. Fresh hop beers taste best fresh, so come and get it… Fresh.
Ratio Beerworks | Denver | Fresh Hop Antidote IPA
This fresh hop version of the flagship Antidote West Coast IPA showcases Montrose, CO Billy Goat Farms classic Cascade Hop as well as the new to Ratio, Multihead hops. Fresh whole flower Cascade hops lend lush ripe grapefruit and citrus notes, while fresh whole flower Multihead hops provide juicy, ripe peach skin notes, which is rounded out with a touch of pine and floral notes from the beer’s base recipe. The dry, yet juicy finish on the palate leaves this beer incredibly drinkable.
Strange Craft | Denver | Fresh Hop Pale
100% comet hops in this annual treasure! For the 6th year running, Strange has crafted Night of the Comet fresh hop pale ale with their friends Jeff and Barbara who grow the hops at their home in New Mexico. From back yard to glass, this year’s batch is sure to get you off your… couch.
