From the Beer Writer: It’s that time of year again—the time when brewmasters’ Instagram posts clog our feeds with shot after shot of vibrant green hop-buds, fields and good-times had visiting the Pacific Northwest for the purpose of hop-selection. Yes, it’s hop-harvest, and with that annual tradition comes a bounty of wet-hop beers. What are wet-hop beer? They are beers given extra hop aroma and oomph thanks to the addition of freshly harvested (or “wet”) whole hops. It’s a magical time of year both for brewers and drinkers, but not all of the hops come from the upper-left corner of the country. Some come from within our county. Case in point, the Cascade and Galena hops used to create Fallbrook Homegrown Pale Ale. Coming in at 5.6% alcohol-by-volume, the beer’s malt bill lends a touch of toastiness in the finish, but is dialed back enough to let the newly reaped botanicals from SD Golden Hop Farm shine. That operation is based in the same community as the business that nurtured this beer into thirst-quenching reality, Fallbrook Brewing Company. In its three years of existence, that brewery has made a point of sourcing as many ingredients as possible from in and around its namesake berg, while also pulling in brewing talent with roots in Fallbrook to help on collaboration beers.
From the Brewer: “Every year we invite a few individuals from the industry to participate in brewing our anniversary beer. The common-denominator between these individuals is a tie to Fallbrook itself. Some have lived here, some have family here and a few have graduated from Fallbrook High School. Each year the group gets bigger and the beer gets better. This year, we decided to brew a wet-hop beer using locally grown hops from SD Golden Hop Farm. It’s a pale ale that has a very distinctive wet-hop aroma giving way to a candied-orange flavor that’s more sweet than bitter and ending with a nice clean finish. A big thanks to all that participated in this beer. We hope you enjoy it.”—Chuck McLaughlin, Owner/Brewmaster, Fallbrook Brewing Company