22 Events Where You Can Try Fresh Hop Beer in Seattle This Fall 2018 The Fresh Hop Ale Festival, the Fremont Fresh Hop Showcase, and More

It's the most wonderful time of the year for beer lovers: fresh hop season! As The Stranger's Lester Black explains , fresh hop beers are made from hops processed no more than 24 hours after being harvested, resulting in brews with a milder, more botanical profile and less bitterness. And Pacific Northwest craft beer drinkers are particularly blessed: Because of the bounty and proximity of the hops in Yakima Valley (which supplies 75% of the nation's hop crop), it's hard to beat the range of fresh hop beers available in our region. These beers are only here for an extremely limited time, so we've rounded up a list of places where they're available so you can make the most of the all-too-fleeting season. For more food and drink inspiration, check out our full food and drink calendar.

SEPT 25 & 29

Hellbent Brewing Company

At the Meridian Fresh Hop IPA Release on Tuesday, be the first to try the IPA that Hellbent Brewing made with fresh Meridian hops from Coleman Agriculture, a sixth-generation family-owned farm near St. Paul, Oregon. Then, at Saturday's Hellbent Brewing Company, sip the Oktoberfest Märzen Lager and two fresh hop IPAs (Amarillo and Meridian IPAs), plus the Harvest Fresh edition of the DANG! Citra IPA while you dance along to the Tyler Hamilton Band and the Charles Street Messengers.

North Seattle

SEPT 25-29

The Growler Guys

Avail yourself of the Growler Guys' large selection and discounts on fresh hop beers.

Lake City

WEDNESDAY, SEPT 26

Populuxe Brewing

Populuxe will release their 2018 Fresh Hop Citra Pale Ale with hops they picked up from Yakima themselves and brewed that day.

Ballard

SATURDAY, SEPT 29

Fresh Hop Ale Festival

Amazingly, Yakima Valley supplies 75% of the nation's hop crop. Yakima’s Fresh Hop Ale Festival, which benefits Yakima County–based arts and science organizations, provides a rare opportunity to taste a range of these hyper-seasonal, ephemeral beers in one place before they’re gone.

Yakima

Counterbalance Brewing

Greet fall with the release of Counterbalance's 2018 Fresh Hop Ale and the return of their Bad Wolf Dark Ale. Plus, play games, watch the Sounders, and eat franks from Chavoya's Hot Dogs.

Georgetown

Fiddler's Inn

The Ravenna bar will release the results of a Chainline Brewing beer made with hops harvested from the Fiddler's own beer garden.

Ravenna

The Noble Fir

A contingent of Seattle breweries (including Holy Mountain, Cloudburst, Reuben's, Georgetown, Stoup, Hellbent, Jellyfish, Rooftop, Lucky Envelope, Lagunitas Ballard, and Maritime Pacific) will go head-to-head against a flock of Portland brewers (Breakside, Laurelwood, Coalition, Mt. Tabor, Level, StormBreaker, Gigantic, Hopworks, Ecliptic, and Zoiglhause) to determine who can produce the best fresh hop beer.

Ballard

Redhook Brewlab

Redhook will unveil two new fresh hop beers: Azacca Fresh Hop IPA, a limited release fresh hop juicy/hazy IPA in their Humulus Unum series, and Safety Meeting Fresh Hopped Hempseed IPA, a hazy fresh hop IPA full of "peachy and nutty goodness."

Capitol Hill

SEPT 29-OCT 7

The Beer Junction

Quaff a selection of 20-30 kegs of fresh hop beer.

West Seattle

OCT 1, 3 & 10

Brouwer's Cafe

For Hopfest on October 1, Brouwer's bids beer lovers to "stop and drink the roses," with around a dozen fresh hop beers on tap until they run out. Then, they'll have An Evening with Bale Breaker and Friends on October 3, when Yakima-based brewery Bale Breaker (which is located right in the heart of the hop harvest in Yakima Valley) will show off their fresh hop beer and a couple of their fresh hop collabs with other breweries like Crux and Cloudburst, plus a Palm Springs Pilsner made in conjunction with San Diego brewery Modern Times. They'll also have a Fremont Fresh Hop Showcase on the 10th, featuring fresh hop beers made with different hops from the Cowiche Canyon in Yakima Valley, which Brouwer's calls "one of the best hop producing regions in the greatest hop producing region in the world."

Fremont

THURSDAY, OCT 4

The Beer Junction

Try fresh hop beers from local favorite Fremont Brewing.

West Seattle

Schooner will release their newest fresh hop beer, made with El Dorado hops from Yakima Valley's CLS Farms and featuring "slight citrus notes" and "a bright hop flavor profile with a refreshingly mild bitterness." The release party will offer $3 pints of the new brew, plus half off all appetizers.Sodo

FRIDAY, OCT 5

Belltown Brewing

Toast to Belltown Brewing's new Carpenter Ranches Fresh Hop IPA, an "ode to the hardworking hop growers at Carpenter Ranches, who have been an integral part of the Yakima Valley hop industry since 1868" and made with fresh Mosaic hops.

Belltown

SATURDAY, OCT 6

Beveridge Place Pub

The homey neighborhood alehouse will close off the parking lot for a festival with over 30 local fresh hop beers, plus outdoor games and nosh.

West Seattle

MONDAY, OCT 8

Ghostfish Brewing Company

Gluten-free drinkers need not be left out of the fresh hop and fall beer fun: Ghostfish Brewing, which makes its gluten-free brews with millet, buckwheat, and brown rice, will release two special beers: Lunar Harvest—a Belgian tripel-style spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove, allspice, and coriander—and their second Fresh Hop Release, made with Simcoe Hops from Yakima Chief Ranches.

Sodo

OCT 9-12

The Pine Box

Taste 20 of the freshest, hoppiest beers around from select local breweries who get their hops from Yakima Valley.

Capitol Hill

WEDNESDAY, OCT 10

Ounces

Choose from over 30 taps exclusively dedicated to fresh hop and fall-themed beers (including pumpkin, Oktoberfest, and other fall-themed seasonals) to sample or gulp by the pint, and chow down on Uzbek food courtesy of the Tabassum food truck.

West Seattle

THURSDAY, OCT 11

Brave Horse Tavern

Chefs Bradley Layfield and Brendon Bain of the cozy gastropub Brave Horse Tavern will create a comforting menu to complement Fremont Brewing's fresh-hopped creations, Field to Ferment and Cowiche Canyon, and a lead brewer from Fremont will be on hand to explain the brewing process and answer questions.

South Lake Union

Seattle HarvestFest

Try a cornucopia of seasonally appropriate brews, including spiced, pumpkin, fresh hop, barrel-aged, and fruit-blended varieties.

Sodo