Great Northern Brewing Frog Hop
This is a review of a promotional sample received from the brewery.
This fresh hop American pale ale was part of a delivery from Great Northern Brewing that I received a coule of weeks ago. It’s a 5.2% ABV brew that’s made with Montana-grown hops just down the road from the brewery. The hop varieties used (Mt. Hood, Chinook, Nugget and Cascade) in making this beer were added into the mix within 24 hours of harvesting.
I’m a big fan of fresh hopped brews and, while this one has a lighter overall hop character, it’s still a tasty brew, but one that would be more seasonally appropriate during the Summer. Luckily, I had a warm enough day this past weekend in order to enjoy this tasty brew.
Appearance
Frog Hop pours a pale straw yellow in color with a one finger white head that held its own through the entire life of the beer.
Aroma
This brew doesn’t have as big a hop aroma as other fresh hopped ales I’ve had in the past. The brewery attributes this to a cooler and wetter season than usual, resulting in hops that did not have similar alpha acid levels as in past years. That said, there is a nice grassy, earthy character to the nose with a nice lemony citrus component. The bottle conditioning adds a bit of the yeast to the aroma, as well.
Taste
Again, Frog Hop isn’t has biting or as pungent as some fresh-hopped beers, but it does carry with it the lemony and grassy character of the wet hops used in the brewing process. The bite isn’t sharp, but does provide a nice tartness to the lingering finish. The mouthfeel is quite active on the tongue, but settles down a little as the beer sits in the glass making it quite drinkable and refreshing.
Overall
This turned out to be an interesting brew with a slightly different hop character than other beers of the style I’ve had in the past. It’s not as pungent, but that sort of helps set this beer apart some. The lighter hop bitterness and profile makes for an easy-to-drink beer. I’d personally like to see a bigger hop footprint, but you can only work with what Mother Nature gives you. I’d say the brewery did a pretty good job working with what they had.
Rating: 3.5/5