Hop Trip

Hop Trip

Deschutes Brewery

Bend, OR

Style: India Pale Ale

ABV: 5.9%

Fresh hop beer, a staple on shelves this time of the year, is typically one that is very heavy handed on the hops. Big aroma, big chewy lupulin flavor that could be anything from citrus to pine, but still there is no mistaking the hop punch. So, I was surprised, and pleasantly so, when I had to hunt around a bit for the hop aroma, and then received more of a creamy amber ale with a subtle orange zest flavor in the background. It’s great strength is its humility. The hop flavors are indeed fresh, but there’s no need for the two-by-four to the palate for this ale to make its point. Hops are a plant. They are delicate. They react well when treated well, and when in this recipe you’ll follow wherever they are leading.

John Holl
John Holl is the editor of All About Beer Magazine and author of “The American Craft Beer Cookbook.” He lives in Jersey City, NJ. Contact him via Twitter @John_Holl or email