Hey everyone!
I promised a new BWBB, and it is finally here. This, however, is a very special edition of the BWBB. First, this is my 50th blog! When I started, I thought I might hit 10 blogs....20 was probably stretching it...but 50?! Second, this isn't just one of those BWBBs where I drink some beer and give my thoughts; this BWBB was more of an event. So with that kickass intro, here it is:
I'm not sure how many of you remember, but one of the very first BWBBs featured Local Acre from Milwaukee's Lakefront Brewery. I was a big fan. The concept behind Local Acre was to brew a beer that used entirely Wisconsin ingredients. The barley and hops came from Wisconsin farmers, which is rare nowadays. Most brewers in the United States use hops from the Northwest. I read somewhere that a region of Washington produces about 75% of the hops grown in the United States. So beers with local hops are hard to find. The disappointing thing about Local Acre was its limited supply. A few months ago, Lakefront just ran out, and liquor stores slowly sold their remaining supply. It was a sad couple of weeks. One night Local Acre was on tap at Tess, and the next it wasn't. But, in life's typical fashion, good things were just around the corner.
Friday night, Sugar Maple (this cool bar in Bayview that has 60 American Craft taps) had the Local Acre Wet Hop release party. Wet Hop is basically what I have dubbed "Local Acre 2.0." The concept, idea and style of the beer are similar to Local Acre 1.0 but with some slight modifications. Still using all Wisconsin ingredients. Still a high alcohol content lager. Still only available on tap or in 22oz bomber bottle. And still really delicious.
In all honesty, I had no idea what the term "wet hop" meant until Friday night. Basically, the vast majority of hops are harvested, dried and then shipped to breweries around the nation. The idea behind "wet hops" is to get the hops from a local source and skip the drying. Wet hops usually have to be used within hours of harvesting otherwise their quality quickly deteriorates. Obviously, this poses many difficulties for brewers. But, people claim that wet hops have a fresher hop flavor and aroma. If Local Acre is any indication, these people are right.
I apologize for the poor picture quality above, but it was the best I could do with my phone in a dimly lit bar. $4 for the pint, and today I saw the 22oz bottle at Whole Foods for $4.99. Wet Hop is a bit less hazy than its counterpart, but it still pours a dark copper color. The aroma is extremely hoppy. I believe the beer is still around 7.0% ABV; however, it does not taste overly strong and is easy to drink. As far as flavor, Wet Hop still tastes like an intense lager, but the hop flavor is very pronounced. In that way, I think 2.0 is a bit of a step up from 1.0. The taste of Wet Hop is super fresh. No bad aftertaste that sometimes plagues hoppy beers. I was ecstatic that 2.0 lived up to my hopes. I will certainly be buying numerous 22oz bottles of Wet Hop before it inevitably runs out. I urge you all to do the same.
I am going to give Wet Hop 9 pints out of 10. Awesome.
To be fair, I should also mention that Sugar Maple was releasing another beer on Friday night as well. The beer called "Hop Harvest" is from Central Waters Brewing Company in Amherst, WI. Obviously, I had a pint of that as well. I've never had any
Central Waters beer before, and unfortunately, I don't think I'll be going out of my way to have any more. Hop Harvest is brewed as an American Pale Ale. It has almost no aroma and is equally lacking in taste. I did not enjoy it. I am giving Hop Harvest 2 pints out of 10. Fortunately, Local Acre Wet Hop more than salvaged the night. A brew that is certainly worthy of the 50th blog.
Until next time...
