Best of Craft Beer Awards – 2024 Fresh Hop Award Winners (Late Harvest)
Three weeks ago, the Best of Craft Beer Awards announced the winners of its 2024 Fresh Hop (Early Harvest) competition. Now after another weekend of judging, this time nearly 100 entries for its 2024 Fresh Hop (Late Harvest) competition, the winners in each of the five categories have been revealed!
For the Late Harvest competition, beer judges convened in the hop capital of the world, Yakima, Washington for judging fresh hop beers and narrowing down 15 winners. The categories judged included Fresh Hop Pale Ale or Hazy Pale Ale, Fresh Hop Hazy IPA, Fresh Hop IPA, Fresh Hop Lagers, and Fresh Hop Other Styles.
To clarify what constitutes a beer being considered a Fresh Hop beer? The Best of Craft Beer Awards requires the beer to meet the following style guidelines…
For our competition, the term “fresh hop” is defined as newly harvested hops which have not been dried for preservation. Fresh hops may be used in any part of the brewing process, and dried hops or other hop products may be used in conjunction. Fresh hop characteristics can be described as green or grassy, though vegetal aromas or flavors are undesirable. Also common is fruit cocktail or other light fruitiness distinct from those aromas/flavors found in dried hops. Aroma/flavor profiles from African, American, European, and Oceanic origin hops are acceptable. The goal in all subcategories is the ideal expression of fresh hop character in harmony with the base beer.
On the second round of judging, only two breweries took home multiple awards. Once again StormBreaker Brewing was awarded Silver and Bronze medals for Fresh Hop Triple Double and Fresh Hop What We Brew in the Shadows. This marks four medals for StormBreaker Brewing at the Best of Craft Beer Awards – 2024 Fresh Hop competition. A pretty good showing winning four out of a potential 30 medals. The other multi-winning brewery in the Late Harvest competition was Vice Beer of Vancouver, Washington. Vice Beer was awarded a Gold and Silver medal for its Lunch Break Stuff and The Freshmaker!
Below is a list of all the winning breweries from the Late Harvest round that’s followed by the Early Harvest round.
2024 Fresh Hop Medalists (Late Harvest)
Fresh Hop Pale Ale or Hazy Pale Ale
Gold: Sunriver Brewing Company – Doug Said So Fresh Hop Talus – Sunriver, OR – Westwood Farms
Silver: Berryessa Brewing Co – Freshie – Winters, CA – Perrault Farms
Bronze: Fremont Brewing – Cowiche Canyon – Seattle, WA – The Britt Farm at Cowiche Canyon
Fresh Hop Hazy IPA
Gold: Varietal Beer Company – Harvest Brain – Sunnyside, WA – Sauve & Son Farms and Carpenter Ranches
Silver: Bevel Craft Brewing – Green Flag – Bend, OR – Roy Farms
Bronze: Schussboom Brewing – New Boot Goofin’ – Reno, NV – Crosby Hops
Fresh Hop IPA
Gold: Fort George Brewery – Krush Architect – Astoria, OR – Perrault Farms
Silver: Vice Beer – The Freshmaker – Vancouver, WA – Coleman Ag
Bronze: Stemma Brewing Company – Fresh Hop Stemma IPA – Bellingham, WA – Perrault Farms
Fresh Hop Lagers
Gold: Vice Beer – Lunch Break Stuff – Vancouver, WA – Coleman Ag
Silver: Burke-Gilman Brewing Company – Celebrant – Seattle. WA – Goschie Farms
Bronze: StormBreaker Brewing – Fresh Hop What We Brew in the Shadows – Portland, OR – Goschie Farms
Fresh Hop Other Styles
Gold: Moonraker Brewing – House of 1000 Cones – Cameron Park, CA – Crosby Hops
Silver: StormBreaker Brewing – Fresh Hop Triple Double – Portland, OR – B & C Hop Farms
Bronze: TapRoom Beer Co – Moving Targets – San Diego, CA – Yakima Chief Hop Farm
And from our previous article on the Early Harvest competition, here are the winners.
2024 Fresh Hop Medalists (Early Harvest)
Fresh Hop Pale Ale or Hazy Pale Ale
Gold: Sunriver Brewing Company – Bondi Fresh Hop Strata – Sunriver, OR – Coleman Ag
Silver: Breakside Brewery & Taproom – Breakside Fresh Hop Cascade Wanderlust – Milwaukie, OR – Goschie Farms
Bronze: Breakside Brewery & Taproom – Breakside What Fresh Beast – Milwaukie, OR – Sodbuster Farms
Fresh Hop Hazy IPA
Gold: Reuben’s Brews – Fresh Hop Party Float – Seattle, WA – Coleman Ag
Silver: Moonraker Brewing – Fresh Juicy Strata – Cameron Park, CA – Indie Hops
Bronze: StormBreaker Brewing – Set Freshies to Haze – Portland, OR – Sodbuster Farms
Fresh Hop IPA
Gold: Everybody’s Brewing – Head Stash – White Salmon, WA – Loza Farms
Silver: Shred Beer Company – Stacks of Green – Rocklin, CA – Crosby Hops
Bronze: Del Cielo Brewing Co – Cosecha Fresca – Martinez, CA – Indie Hops
Fresh Hop Lagers
Gold: Trap Door Brewing – Lupulo Fresco – Washougal, WA – Goschie Farms
Silver: StormBreaker Brewing – Fresh Hop What We Brew in the Shadows – Portland, OR – Goschie Farms
Bronze: Trap Door Brewing – Fresh Day Beer – Washougal, lWA – Coleman Ag
Fresh Hop Other Styles
Gold: Breakside Brewery & Taproom – Breakside Fresh Hop Crystal Double Wanderlust – Milwaukie, OR – Goschie Farms
Silver: Schussboom Brewing – Freaky Freaky Fresh – Reno, NV – Crosby Hops
Bronze: Sunriver Brewing Company – Fuzztail Fresh Hop Luminosa – Sunriver, OR – Coleman Ag
Congratulations to all of the winners from both the Early Harvest and Late Harvest 2024 Best of Craft Beer Awards Fresh Hop competition! To learn more, visit bestofcraftbeerawards.com.
About The Author
DJ
D.J. is a Portland, Oregon based writer that spent his formative years in the Midwest. With over 25 years under his belt of drinking beer at festivals across America and the world, he has developed a strong appreciation and understanding of craft beer and the industry that surrounds it. He can be found in any of the great breweries or beer bars that make Portland the best beer city in the world. His writing can also be found in the archives of Northwest Brewing News and can be followed on Twitter and Instagram at @hopapalooza.