Beer alert: Hop Trip, wet hops and more

The romance of hops? That either makes sense to you or it doesn’t. Deschutes Brewery certainly understands because it has posted a wonderful movie about the making of Hop Trip 2006 at its website.

Deschutes used whole leaf Crystal hops for its fresh hop beer, creating a beer of moderate alcohol (5.5% abv), solid bitterness (38 IBU) and excessive hop flavor.

Hop Trip flashes the citrusy/piney aroma you expect of a beer from the Northwest, but follows that with spicy/floral flavors from the wet hops. It tiptoes on the border of being a bit vegetal, but the final impression is soothing in a way that may cause you to consider napping on a hop pillow.

– Great Divide Brewing in Denver has shipped its “wet hop” ale, simply called Fresh Hop Pale Ale. The 2005 batch proved so popular that the brewery doubled the amount it brewed, but higher demand means it again will be sold on an allocated basis and a little harder to find. Fresh Hop Ale is 6.1% abv and measures 55 IBU.

– Monday is the official release date for Stone Double Bastard Ale and Oaked Arrogant Bstard but Double Bastard has been spotted on store shelves already. The news is that that Oaked Arrogant Bastard will be available in 12-ounce bottles (sold in 6-packs) for the first time.

“Each beer possesses very different flavor characteristics and complexity, while retaining the intensity of the original Bastard,” Stone Head Brewer Mitch Steele said for a company press release. “Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale has the strong flavor of American oak, vanilla, and malt, while the Double Bastard Ale is a huge beer, dominated by malt, fruit, fresh hops and alcohol.”

– Extra Special Red (8% abv) is the third release in Odell Brewing’s 2006 Single Batch Series. “There is a lot of history behind this beer style. Red beers can be traced back to ancient Egypt. It is one of the oldest beer recipes” said brewer Greg Wiggall. According to Egyptian mythology, beer colored with red ochre was used to pacify an angry goddess and save the world from destruction.