Fresh Hops

Let’s make something special–together

An Annual Celebration of Farm-Fresh Beer

Stripped from the bine and completely unprocessed, fresh hop cones contribute unique herbal flavors to beer that you just can’t get from pellets. There’s a strong culture around wet hopped beer in the hop growing regions of the western US and Europe but a lack of hop farms in the eastern US has left brewers with limited access to this coveted ingredient–until now!

 Hop On It!

Pre-Order Vermont Fresh Hops Today

Tentative Hop Harvest Schedule

  • Centennial/Willamette: Mid August

  • Magnum: Mid August

  • Chinook: Late August

  • Cascade: Early September

  • Crystal: Mid September

  • Nugget: Mid September

Make a once-a-year beer.

  • Fresh (wet) hops contain all of the delicate essential oils that give hops their flavor and aroma, some of which are degraded by the drying and pelletizing process. That’s why beers made with fresh hops have more nuanced flavors (think of the difference between cooking with dried herbs vs. fresh herbs straight from the garden)! That’s why we talk about these as “once a year” beers. You simply can’t make them at any other time!

  • Fresh hops are extremely perishable and need be used in large quantities (due to their much higher moisture content vs. pellets). To work with fresh hops, Northeastern breweries have had to ship them in from across the country at a huge economic, environmental, and quality cost. We have heard lots of stories about fresh hops arriving in a sorry state.

    We are proud to be able to offer fresh hops in large quantities to the 1000+ breweries within a reasonable driving distance of our farm. Brewers can pick up hops straight from the farm and have them swimming in their kettles within hours of leaving the field!

  • Beers made with fresh hops are more than just another taproom release–they’re an event! Due to the quick turnaround time and the variable nature of harvest season, this is a great way to plan a spontaneous release party for your brewery. You’ll be giving your customers a truly unique beer experience they can’t get any other time of the year. Plus, it’s a great way to educate beer lovers about the hops that go into their favorite brews.

Fresh Hop FAQ

  • * Most brewers use fresh hops on the hot side.

    * After grain out, empty the mash tun. Boil and WP as usual. Dump your fresh hops out of the packaging and into the clean and empty mash tun. You may consider lightly crushing the fresh hop cones to expose more lupulin. Cool your wort to roughly 180 and transfer to your fresh-hopped mash tun.

    * Stir and steep for 30 or so minutes and then knock out through your heat exchanger and into your fermenter.

  • Fresh hops contribute a beautiful range of uniquely herbal flavors. We believe in letting them speak for themselves! Simple malt backbones and non-intrusive yeasts are the best way to bring out the best of our fresh hops. We suggest working with a pale ale base or aiming for something like a West Coast IPA. Two rows and pilsners are ideal.

  • The most important consideration is moisture content. Fresh hops have vastly more than pellets, at about 75-80%, and so need to be used in larger quantities. Plan on using 4-5x more fresh cones than pellets (by weight).

    We also suggest focusing on a cooler, longer process. A longer steep allows for better infusion of the unique and delicate aromas fresh hops contribute. That will require a lower temperature, below isomerization. Steep your fresh hops for about 30 minutes after the boil for best results.

  • We’ve often found that the best fresh hopped beers use only wet cones. Having said that, some brewers combine pellets with fresh hops, using pellets in the boil and fresh hops in the whirlpool.

    We suggest using fresh hops within 24 hours of harvest, if possible. We harvest and sort cones in the morning, and will have your order ready for pickup by noon. We’ll be in touch as soon as we have an exact date and time for you!

    Refrigerate your fresh hops before using them.

  • Fresh hops are only available during harvest season (mid-August through late September). Pre-ordering fresh hops can help you plan your brewing schedule and guarantee your supply. Plus, reserving up front helps us as farmers—much like a seasonal CSA. We also offer discounted rates when you order ahead.

  • We wait to schedule pickup dates until close to harvest. Please see our tentative schedule below: harvest season runs from mid August through late September. Exact picking dates vary by variety and can change seasonally based on environmental conditions. Leading up to harvest, we run analytical tests and are constantly smelling cones to determine peak readiness. We will do our best to accommodate your brewing schedule. Some varieties, such as Chinook, and Cascade may be available for a whole week. Centennial and Willamette will likely be harvested in one day.

  • We have found that some brewers care more about when they are going to brew than what variety they are going to brew with. While our start and end dates for harvest can be variable, we typically harvest M-F from the start to the end of harvest. If you have a date in mind that you want your hops, simply let us know (email max@champlainvalleyhops.com) and we will get you whatever variety we are harvesting that day.

  • “Using wet hops during harvest is something I look forward to every year—the capture of pre-processed hop flavor brings a little bit of the farm right into the brewery.”

    — Jesse Cronin, Lucy and Howe Brewing Company

  • ”We love working with Champlain Valley Hops on our Fresh Hop projects. It’s easy to see in the end product that they do such a great job at nurturing and caring for these plants, as well as making a genuine effort to develop relationships with Vermont producers. We are so spoiled to have them so close, you can’t beat using hops so fresh they’ve only been off the bine for 3 or 4 hours!”

    — Brian Eckert, Four Quarters Brewing

  • “Harvest season is a very special time of the year. People have come to expect wet hop beers from us and start asking about them at the end of the summer. It’s an electrifying experience to take something that was picked that day and use it in a beer within a matter of hours. It captures the true essence of the hop, like a snapshot in time.”

    — Robert Grim, Foam Brewers

Breweries that love our fresh hops: