2023 Best of Craft Beer Awards Fresh Hop Award Winners

Held over the course of two judging sessions, one during the early hop harvest and the other during the late hop harvest, the winners have been announced in the 2023 Best of Craft Beer Awards Fresh Hop Competition.

In September and October, professional brewers and judges from across the Pacific NW descended upon Central Oregon and the hop region of Yakima, WA to judge super fresh Wet Hop beers from as far away as Texas, Virginia, New Jersey, and Saskatchewan, Canada. In all, 91 breweries entered 219 beers that were awarded with 30 medals.

Two separate judging sessions allowed brewers to enter beers using hops harvested at different times across multiple states. The Early Harvest session took place at Three Creeks Brewing in Sisters, OR on September 24, 2023, with the Late Harvest session taking place at Single Hill Brewing in Yakima, WA on October 15, 2023.

It is nice to see a fresh hop competition that judged beers brewed with freshly harvested wet hops in segments that allowed for the beer to be judged when it is as fresh as possible. Here’s a rundown on the 30 medal winners!

Early Harvest

Fresh Hop Pale Ale or Fresh Hop Hazy Pale Ale
Gold: Sunriver Brewing Co. – Bondi IPA Fresh Hop (CGX Variant) – Sunriver, OR
Silver: Chainline Brewing Co. – Strata Fresh Hop Smash – Kirkland, WA
Bronze: StormBreaker Brewing – Fresh Hop Ella Rose – Portland, OR

Fresh Hop IPA
Gold: Trap Door Brewing (Collab w/ Taps Beer Reserve) – Fresher Than Fresh – Washougal, WA
Silver: Deschutes Brewery Bend Public House – Killer Coleman – Bend, OR
Bronze: Stoup Brewing – Simcoe Fresh Hop Fiend – Seattle, WA

Fresh Hop Hazy IPA
Gold: Varietal Beer Co (Collab w/ Future Primitive Brewing & Cervecería Transpeninsular) – Hop Grind 2023 – Sunnyside, WA
Silver: TapRoom Beer Co – Figures in the Fog – San Diego, CA
Bronze: Trap Door Brewing – Fresh Glowed Up – Washougal, WA

Fresh Hop Imperial IPA or Fresh Hop Hazy Imperial IPA
Gold: Boneyard Beer – Out On Bale – Bend, OR
Silver: Burke-Gilman Brewing Co. – Fresh Hopotheosis (Strata) – Seattle, WA
Bronze: StormBreaker Brewing – Fresh Hop Triple Double – Portland, OR

Fresh Hop Lager
Gold: Reuben’s Brews (Collab w/ Gnarly Barley Brewing) – Nose Grab – Seattle, WA
Silver: Threshold Brewing & Blending – Piwo – Portland, OR
Bronze: Bend Brewing Co. – Fresh Hop Rapid Crusher – Bend, OR

Fresh Hop Specialty
Gold: Sunriver Brewing Co – Fuzztail Fresh Hop – Luminosa – Sunriver, OR
Silver: Burke-Gilman Brewing Co – Freshsperanza – Seattle, WA
Bronze: Ecliptic Brewing – Astro Fresh Hop Italian-style Pilsner – Portland, OR

Late Harvest

Fresh Hop Pale Ale or Fresh Hop Hazy Pale Ale
Gold: Bend Brewing Co. – Mosaic Mega Pint – Bend, OR
Silver: Sunriver Brewing Co. – Rippin Fresh Hop – Amarillo – Sunriver, OR
Bronze: StormBreaker Brewing – Fresh Hop Nobody Puts Hazy In A Corner – Portland, OR

Fresh Hop IPA
Gold: Bale Breaker Brewing (Collab w/ Russian River Brewing) – Fresh Hop Frenz IPA – Yakima, WA
Silver: Old Stove Brewing – Talus West Coast IPA – Seattle, WA
Bronze: Stoup Brewing – HBC 586 Fresh Hop Fiend – Seattle, WA

Fresh Hop Hazy IPA
Gold: Single Hill Brewing (Collab w/ Obelisk Beer Co.) – Social Piranha – Yakima, WA
Silver: Moonraker BrewingFresh Juicy Mosaic – Cameron Park, CA
Bronze: Single Hill Brewing (Collab w/ Highland Park Brewing) – California Tristan – Yakima, WA

Fresh Hop Specialty
Gold: Grains of Wrath Brewing – Wrathlands West Coast Pilsner – Camas, WA
Silver: Stoup Brewing – CTZ Fresh Hop Fiend – Seattle, WA
Bronze: Pinthouse Brewing – Fresh Hop Road 2 Nowhere – Austin, TX

To view the full results, click here, as this gives out much more detailed information on the hops and hop growers.