Fresh Hop Season Begins in Oregon — New School Beer + Cider

Ruse Brewing

First fresh hop beers drop September 15th

Ruse Brewing has been ratcheting up their fresh hop releases over the past few years and plans to release 10 this year. As big believers of using fresh hops “hot side” at the beginning of the brewing process, their beers tend to be released slightly later in the season. Ruse Brewing kicks their hop harvest releases off on September 15th with two Strata fresh hopped beers.

Mystic Visions is a Hazy IPA using oat and spelts for body and mouth feel, with eldorado and mosaic hops, and a big pop of fresh strata hops to add a combo of fruit and dankness. Alien Plant Farm is a West Coast IPA collaboration with Human People Beer out of Seattle, WA, and Riip Beer from Hungington Beach, CA. This 6.6% abv westie has a plethora of hops additions from flaked adjuncts to Simcoe hop extract, and fresh frozen Cryo Mosaic hops. The big boost comes from Strata fresh hops. Both Mystic Visions and Alien Plant Farm drop on draft and in 16oz cans on September 15th, but a separate Citra fresh hop variant of Alien Plant Farm will be released on draft-only on September 22nd.

Next up on September 22nd: Green Mountain Green, a Hazy IPA collaboration with Other Half Brewing out of New York with fresh Simcoe hops on tap and in cans with a Mosaic variant dropping draft-only on September 30th. Red Rain, a fresh hop NW Red ale collaboration with Slice Beer Co. from Lincoln, CA with fresh Chinook hops in cans and on draft. Deception Test, a West Coast IPA collaboration with Ism Brewing out of Long Beach, CA with fresh Simcoe hops. The draft-only variant of Alien Plant Farm with citra hops will also be released this day. All four beers are kegging on September 22nd and should be available at the brewery that day and from the distributor Day One the following days/week.

September 29th and 30th marks the final few releases in Ruse’s fresh hop schedule: Wolves in the Rain, a West Coast IPA with Citra fresh hops: Shade Garden, a Hazy IPA with fresh Citra hops; and, Songspire, a West Coast IPA with fresh Citra hops, all drop on September 29th at the brewery with the distributor to follow. The Mosaic fresh hop variant of Green Mountain Green hazy IPA will also drop the following day on 9/30 on draft-only.