Bloglander

There are many reasons to love the fall season, but, at least in my opinion, the foremost is the arrival of fresh-hop beers.

Give that the Northwest fields a sizable percentage of the world's hop production, it's fitting that the region also produces the best fresh-hop beers. Also called wet-hop beers, these creations utilize hops within 48 hours of their harvest, at which point they are added to the brewing process. The fresh hop contains extra oils and other ingredients that give the finished product a fuller and more floral taste. And the smell...oh my, the aroma of these brews is worth savoring. 

Local breweries have gotten in on the fun, including Iron Goat and Laughing Dog, both of which invited fans to help provide the needed hops.

But to get the full feel of these extra special beers (that are typically hard to find and don't last on the tap very long), get down to the Lantern Tap House for their Fresh Hop Festival running today and tomorrow until at least 10 pm. 

Tasters are $5 for four samples and full pints run $5. There's also live music and other fun.

But let's get down to it: the beers. Here's a complete list, which includes several local beers.

Iron Goat Spo Hop (Centennial & Cascades, 60 IBU 5.8 %)

Iron Goat Simcoe Citra (70 IBU, 5.2%)

River City/Waddells Easy Green (Simcoe & Cascades, 70 IBU, 6.2%)

Double Mountain Killer Green (Brewers Gold, 87 IBU, 9.5%)

Double Mountain Killer Red (Perle & Sterling, 88 IBU, 7.2%)

Deschutes Hop Trip (Nugget, Centennial, Fresh Crystal, 38 IBU, 5.9%)

NoLi Chinook Fresh Hop (90 IBU, 7.6%)

Elysian 50 Shades of Green (Mosaic Hop, 7%)

Elysian Kama Citra (Citra Wet Hop, 45 IBU, 6.7%)

Ninkasi Hoptitude (Centennial Hop, 55 IBU, 5%)

Trickster Hoppit Fresh Hop (Citra & Chinook, 60 IBU, 6%)

12 String Fresh Hop (Simcoe, 85 IBU, 5%)

Trickster Feel the Love CDA (Simcoe, Centennial, Mosaic)

Ninkasi Total Crystallization (Crystal, 65 IBU, 6.7%)

Backwoods Fresh Hop (Amarillo, 30 IBU, 6.5%)

Iron Horse Brewlette Fresh Hop