Every summer sees the harvest of fresh hops and brewers eager to craft truly seasonal beers with them. Here’s your guide to San Diego’s scene this year. For additions or changes, e-mail ryan@westcoastersd.com…
Photos by Matt De La Cruz (@brewstills)
First Out Of The Gate: Thunderhawk Alements
On July 26, West Coaster reported on what we believed was the first wet hop beer brewed in San Diego County this summer (Nickel Beer’s collaboration with Star B Ranch). Well, it turns out that Miralani Makers’ District brewery Thunderhawk Alements beat Nickel by three days.
To craft a ten-barrel wet hop version of their English pale ale Liberty’s Teeth, Thunderhawk’s Bill Lindsay worked with Solo Salsido of El Cajon’s Hopmentation Farm to harvest Nugget and Cascade hops for the brew kettle.
“This beer uses English Ale yeast which has some nice subtle esters that complement most wet hops,” said Thunderhawk’s Jonathan Barbarin. “We also split this beer into kegs containing different wet hop varieties, including Chinook, Cascade, and Brewer’s Gold. The flavor and aroma from the secondary wet hopping creates some incredible, diverse flavors. Chinook hops created an herbal, dill, sweet Tzatziki profile. Cascade is probably the most bitter of the bunch, with lemon peel and earth, finishing with a subtle dank bitterness. The Brewer’s Gold was the fruitiest of the bunch, projecting a strong aroma of honeydew melon rind, with the flavor to match. One of the most interesting parts of drinking a pint of these wet hop beers is the slightly sticky mouthfeel from the copious amounts of hop oils, without leaving a cloying bitterness.”
Most Dedicated: Nickel Beer Co.
Readers who’ve followed these wet hop articles for the past few years know that Tom Nickel is San Diego’s leader in wet hop beer brewing. On Thursday, September 13, his Kearny Mesa bar O’Brien’s Pub will feature around a dozen of the wet hop beers he was involved with this year; most of those were brewed at his Julian brewery Nickel Beer Co. while others are collaborations from around town, including a graf (beer/cider hybrid) made with Newtopia Cyder from Scripps Ranch. Over that weekend (9/14 – 9/16), the taps will feature even more beers made in San Diego with local hops. In October, the emphasis switches to Yakima Valley/Pacific Northwest hops.
Most Dedicated (Honorable Mention): Viewpoint Brewing
(Relative) newcomer Viewpoint is working on seven wet hop beers this year, with the angle of exploring the characteristics of wet hops throughout the season. The first one tapped was a 4.8% Cascade session IPA collaboration with Nickel; a second version is planned for the end of harvest. Others brewed by time of press included a wet hop amber and a wet hop extra pale ale with Crystal, Nugget, and Cascade.
Farm-To-Table Connection: Royale
The owners of Valley Center hop and produce farm Nopalito also own Point Loma bar and restaurant Royale. On Sunday, September 16, the farm is hosting a party with MIHO Catering and wet hop beers by South Park Brewing, North Park Brewing, and Nickel; tickets are $80 at SundayAsado.BrownPaperTickets.com. The next weekend, Saturday, September 22, there’s a “Wet Hop Week” kick-off party at Royale, with wet hop IPA-battered fish & chips, plus the wet hop beers on tap.
New Beer Competition: Bocce Fest
On September 30, Viewpoint Brewing co-founder Charles Koll will lead a brand new beer competition coinciding with the Del Mar-Solana Beach Rotary’s 22nd annual “Bocce Fest” at the old Polo Fields, all to raise money for charities Just In Time and Reality Changers. The competition will be judged by a panel of industry professionals headed by Paul Sangster, master BJCP beer judge and co-founder/brewmaster of Rip Current Brewing Company. The competition includes a wet hop beer category, and they’re hoping to have close to 50 San Diego breweries participate.
More Wet Hop Beers in San Diego:
Amplified Ale Works debuted Wet Zeppelin IPA with Cascade and Centennial from HopsMeister at their E-Vil (East Village) grand opening on Friday, August 24.
Bitter Brothers brewed a Brut Wet Hop IPA on August 17 with Cashmere hops from Star B, as a collaboration with Nickel Beer. The name: CashmereOutside.
Burgeon Beer will use Pacific Northwest hops to brew Sticky Fingers (100% Mosaic) Double IPA some time in early September. There’s also a New England-style, 100% Citra collaboration with Pizza Port in the works.
Burning Beard’s third annual Circle of Wet Hops is the wet-hopped version of the core lineup Pale Ale, featuring 100 pounds of Star B Cascade (5.2%). The second annual all-Neomexicanus collaboration IPA with Nickel is called Room 101 (6.5%).
Culture’s gluten-reduced IPA: Hops. Wet hops. ABV: (00)7.0%. All Cascade and Chinook from SD Golden Hop Farm in Fallbrook. Brewed on August 11.
Deft Brewing will use Chinook and Centennial hops grown on their patio for WetHopt. Cones will likely be harvested in mid-September.
Duck Foot is adding Cascade and Centennial hops from HopsMeister in their West Coast-style IPA The Contender.
Fourpenny House in La Mesa celebrated their grand opening in April, and they’re brewing three wet hop beers this year, all with help from Hopportunity Farms in Julian: Beatrix Blonde with Julian Gold (4.2%); Fourpenny Ale with Cascade (5.4%); and Pacific Crest Ale with Chinook (6.2%)
North Park Beer Company worked with Chinook hops from Nopalito Farm to brew Chinopalito again, on August 17.
Pizza Port’s five brewpubs are all brewing at least one wet hop beer this year. The headquarters at Bressi Ranch will can their batch, a West Coast-style, all-Citra IPA collaboration with Burgeon Beer, for a tentative end of September release. Solana Beach will be brewing ‘Merica West Coast IPA with Mosaic hops (7%), and Citra Supreme with Citra hops (8%). Ocean Beach’s Wet Lambo IPA uses fresh Mosaic, and Dr. Greenthumb IPA has all Citra. Carlsbad’s Plant 2 Pint is a 6% strong pale ale with Mosaic, and Raceway is a 7% West Coast IPA with Citra. Outside of San Diego County, but worthy of a mention, Pizza Port San Clemente is brewing Riptide IPA with fresh Citra, and Contender Pale with fresh Mosaic.
Pure Project teamed up with Star B Ranch (Cascade, Nugget, Horizon) on Desert Convoy Murky IPA (7%). Women’s Beer Collective was also on hand to help pick some of the smaller bines that weren’t machine-processed. This beer was on tap for the Convoy Flight on August 26 at O’Brien’s Pub, Common Theory, Shanghai Saloon, and Soho Gastropub.
Quantum’s Anti-Matter IPA, made with Cascade hops from Renquist Farm in Valley Center, is 8.0%.
Rock Bottom La Jolla is working with HopsMeister Farm to brew Hop Tub Time Machine IPA (6.8%).
Second Chance Beer’s Single Hop IPA (7%) uses all Cascade from Hopportunity Farms in Julian.
South Park Brewing is working with locals Nopalito Farm (Hoppy Red 6.6 – 7%) and Star B (Baby Buck XPA 5.8 – 6.2%) again this year. The beers should be on tap late August or early September.
Thorn’s wet hop beer is a collaboration with Urban Surf 4 Kids. Hop Grom is 5.5% with Chinook, Comet, and Pacific Gem Hops.
