BridgePort Brewing Company Releases Highly Coveted 2011 Hop Harvest Big Brew
625 Pounds of Centennial Hops Make the Trip from the Fields to the Tank in Less Than an Hour for this Fresh Hop Beer
PORTLAND, Ore. – September 7, 2011 – BridgePort Brewing Company, Oregon’s oldest craft brewery, releases its 2011 Hop Harvest beer September 15th at the Pearl district brewpub. Last year’s Hop Harvest used 400 pounds and that number has grown exponentially – increasing to over 625 pounds of fresh Centennial hops from third-generation, family-owned Goschie Farms in Silverton, Ore.
“Last year’s Hop Harvest flew off the shelves,” exclaimed Brewmaster Jeff Edgerton. “This year, we’re trying to prepare for this demand a little more by increasing the total number of hops we pull from the fields. This beer is always a crowd favorite and evokes a subtle garden-fresh and natural citrus taste that beer drinkers crave.”
When announced by Gayle Goschie, farm head of Goschie Farms, that the crop was ripe for harvest, BridgePort’s Brewmaster, Jeff Edgerton, drove to the farm with utility trailer in tow. Armed with huge burlap sacks, the group took to retrieving the fresh Centennial hops at the farm. Normally these hops would be sent through the drier and shipped throughout the US, but the team caught the green cones prior to drying and loaded them up for the trip up north to the brewery. Within an hour, the BridgePort crew cut open the sacks and the hops were blended with a base beer that had been prepared in advance and cooled to prevent cooking off the delicate flavor profiles. In around 2-weeks, brewers will lightly filter the beer and fill kegs and 22-oz bottles with this farm-fresh brew.
“The smell of those hops is hard to explain but it definitely brings a smile to the faces of our brewers and there’s a certain energy around here when they come in. It is uniquely Oregon to be able to pull from the vines and then feed into the cold tanks in under an hour.”
BridgePort will host a Hop Harvest release party Thursday, September 15 at 5:30pm at the BridgePort BrewPub in the Pearl at 1313 NW Marshall St. Free and open to the public, attendees can be among the first to sample the new brew while supplies last and purchase a limited-edition 22-ounce bottle of Hop Harvest.
BridgePort’s Hop Harvest Stats:
IBU’s: 65 ABV: 6.5% Color: Deep Amber OG: 16.0
