Gigantic Brewing is releasing four unique fresh-hopped beers throughout September.

Press Release

We are fortunate to be located in the Willamette Valley, a short drive away from the farms we work with, including Sodbuster Farms in Keizer, OR and Goschie Farms in Silverton, OR, who supply us with some of the finest hops in the Pacific Northwest. 

“The brewing calendar really revolves around this period in late August through September when the hop harvest comes in. Germany may have Octoberfest, but Oregon has fresh hop season, and these beers are the way in which we at Gigantic celebrate the seasonality of our craft and our relationship to the farmers upon which we rely,” opines Gigantic Masterbrewer Van Havig. 

There is no “right” way to make fresh hop beers, but our method relies upon our brew house which we specifically designed to use whole hop flowers. As a result, our fresh hop beers are made with hops at the peak of their ripeness, with less than 1 1/4 hours passing from the field to the brewery.  These fresh beauties go straight into our hop back - 200 to 300 lbs for 15 barrels of beer - where the hot wort extracts all of their delicate, delicious oils.  There are faster ways to release a fresh hop beer, but we think this method, and the subsequent wait, results in the best fresh hop beers we can make.  We hope you’ll agree.

Sodbusted XI: The Book of Simcoe Fett - Fresh Hop IPA: 6.2% ABV, made with 20lbs/BBL of Doug Weather’s finest fresh Simcoe hops from Sodbuster Farms in Keizer, OR. Continuing our 11 year partnership with Sodbuster Farms, we always wait for them to pick the best of the Simcoe hops to make this beer. Simcoe is loaded with grapefruit and piney punchy hop aromas and it works really great in our system and the way we make fresh hop beers. Some things are a classic because they’re good. Packaging September 7th and available that day in bottle and draft at the Brewery, Hawthorne Pub, and Robot Room. Look for it in the Portland area the following week. 

Strata Fresh Hop Hazy IPA aka “So Fresh”: 6.2% ABV, made with 14lbs/BBL of Gayle Goschie’s finest fresh Strata hops. Strata is THE Oregon hop - we love it for its punchy, juicy, passionfruit flavors and how it lends itself to the hazy style. This makes it perfect to showcase in a fresh hop hazy beer. Packaging September 8th and available that day  in bottle and draft at the Brewery, Hawthorne Pub, and Robot Room. Look for it in the Portland area the following week. 

Fresh Hop Pilsner: 5.2% ABV, made with 14lbs/BBL of Gayle Goschie’s finest fresh Tettnanger hops. Enjoy soft, bready malt characteristics, noticeable floral notes, and a spicy wet hop character. The Germans wish they could make a beer like this. Packaging September 11th and available that day in bottle and draft at the Brewery, Hawthorne Pub, and Robot Room.. Look for it in the Portland area later that week. 

Freshtoberfresh Fresh Hop Oktoberfest Lager: 5.8% ABV, made with 14lbs/BBL of Gayle Goschie’s finest fresh Willamette hops. This traditional Oktoberfest style beer has rich bready and malty flavors counterpointed with bright fruity and spicy hop notes, making it a uniquely Oregonian take on the classic seasonal German beer. Packaging September 25th to mark the end of the harvest season and Oktoberfest.  Available on draft at the Brewery, Hawthorne Pub, and Robot Room on September 25th. Look for it in the Portland area later in the week.