GREAT DIVIDE FRESH HOP @greatdividebrew

Last summer on one of my hundred trips to Colorado Steveo and I made a pilgrimage to Great Divide Brewery in Denver!  While there we sampled several beers including their famous variations on their Yeti Stout!  I grew pretty smitten with Great Divide’s beers!  The brewery and taproom is very cool too!  If you’re ever out there and don’t have some nagging bitch with you I would suggest stopping by their brewery and getting a flight of something you love!  You won’t regret it! 

So I was on twitter (Captain Fantastic@jsherer74) a few months back and noticed Great Divide had released their Fresh Hop Ale!  That same day I happened to be on a comic run in TH and stopped at Friday’s for a brew and sure as shit they had Great Divide Fresh Hop on tap so I saddled up to the bar and had one of their cute bar-maids pull me a pint of it!  It was tasty!  But the awesome didn’t end there…I stopped by Baesler’s and they had bombers (20 oz) bottles of Fresh Hop!  So here we are!  The picture you see is of that same bottle I bought that day! 

I took said bottle to the Ginger Ninja’s mansion for this week’s installment of Cigars N Brew!  I should mention the Ginger Ninja’s house is huge and he has a sweet outdoor patio/deck!  He made some of the best burgers I’ve had outside of a trendy restaurant and they provided the perfect foundation for a pint of Fresh Hop!

ABV: 6.10%

Style: American Pale Ale

IBU:  55

Brewery: Great Divide – Colorado

Beer Advocate: 92 Exceptional

Seems like fresh hop ales are in style right now.  I’ve had a few from Sierra Nevada which were fucking amazing beers IMO!  Fresh Hop by Great Divide is no exception.  One thing about these fresh hop beers are that the hop aroma is evident right off the bat when you pop the top!  It doesn’t take long for that smell to hit your nose.  These beers are meant to be enjoyed in a set period of time while the hoppiness is at its peak!  He hop profile was not overwhelming.  55 IBUs is a pretty fair bitterness and is enjoyable without destroying your taste buds.  The color is a nice golden with a hint of amber.  The head is thick and frothy like an IPA.  Fresh Hop had a refreshing taste with floral notes followed by had slight bitter malt finish!  I would say it’s like a toned down version of Great Divide’s Titan IPA!  I recommend this beer if you can get your hands on it!  You won’t be disappointed, especially with a good meal or after a shitty day at work!

Cheers!