The day following his visit to the Leavenworth Oktoberfest, Hoppy attended the Projekt Bayern Oktoberfest in Wenatchee. Projekt Bayern founded the original Leavenworth Oktoberfest in 1998 and operated it until 2019, making it one of the best and most authentic Oktoberfest celebrations in the entire country. Projekt Bayern’s traditional Oktoberfest celebration is now located in the beautiful city of Wenatchee at the Town Toyota Center.
While at this Oktoberfest Hoppy enjoyed imbibing Hofbrau Oktoberfestbier. It is brewed by Staatliches Hofbrauhaus Munchen, in Munich, Bayern Germany. It is described as a rich, full-bodied beer which goes down ideally with traditional Bavarian cuisine. With its deliciously bitter taste and clean, crisp edge, it is a vital part of the Oktoberfest experience. It is 6.3% ABV, 23 IBU.
Pictures from the Oktoberfest follow:
Taken From EntranceDaily Opening Procession Continuation of ProcessionEnd of ProcessionDraft ListEntertainment by Juggler on Stilts and Musikkapelle LeavenworthSignageWenatchee Welcome Sign
The next stop was, of course, the Leavenworth Oktoberfest. It is held over the first three weekends in October and began in 1998.
Between raising his glass and yelling prost, Hoppy drank the following beers:
Weihenstephaner Dunkel – A dark wheat beer from Freising, Bavaria, Germany. It is described as effervescent and full-bodied with a pleasantly light caramel note in the flavor imparting a velvety mouthfeel. It is chestnut in color. 5.3% ABV, 14 IBU. (Weihenstephaner is the world’s oldest continuing operating brewery and has been located at a monastery site since at least 1040.)
Icicle Brewing Alpenhaze Hazy IPA – Described as a bright, tropical and juicy IPA with Mosaic, Citra, El Dorado and Simcoe hops, giving it notes of mango, pineapple, tangerine and apricot that excite the nose and palate. The malt profile provides a body that ends each sip with a light and pillowy mouthfeel. 6.3% ABV, 30IBU.
Photos from the Fest follow:
Leavenworth FesthalleWelcome WagonSmilin’ Scandinavians Performing in The FesthalleDraft ListManuela Horn Performing in The FesthalleManuela HornManuela HornPhot Op With ManuelaFesthalle DecorAttendees in Bierzelt TentFrom 2015 Leavenworth OktoberfestFrom 2015 Leavenworth Oktoberfest
Icicle Brewing was established in 2010 and they moved into their current location in 2011. In 2019, a new brewery and packaging facility was constructed in Leavenworth and a new 5-barrel experimentation brewery was added to their original location to allow for continued innovation and to bring more beer varieties to their patrons. (Incidentally, the entire town center of Leavenworth is modeled on a German Bavarian village as part of a civic initiative that began in the 1960s. The town is a major, four-season tourist destination with festivals nearly every month and a multitude of events of which Icicle Brewing is a part.)
While there, as a prelude to Leavenworth’s famous Oktoberfest celebration, Hoppy quaffed the ale that won Best of Show at the recently conducted 2023 Yakima Fresh Hop Festival! This was the Fresh Hop Alpenhaze. It is described as a tasty n’ juicy fresh hop ale that began with their Alpenhaze base beer and was dry hopped with lots of fresh Citra hops from CLS Farms. It was brewed on their small batch pilot system and takes an already great beer and adds that little extra goodness that can only come from the fresh hop harvest. It is 6% ABV and the IBU is listed as too fresh!
Pictures follow:
ExteriorLineup at Entrance & View of MezzanineDraft BoardBest of ShowFresh Hop AlpenhazeHeading DownstairsDownstairsMezzanineLooking Down From MezzanineLooking Out at Beer Garden and Line for OktoberfestPatrons at CounterPortable TapLadies Prepping for Oktoberfest
Yakima, which is considered the hop capital of the U.S., if not the world, is also home to Single Hill Brewing which was Hoppy’s next visit in his exploration of fresh hop ales. They opened their doors in June 2018 with a vision of Single Hill as a hub and supporter of three different communities: their Coworkers, the people that make up Single Hill; their Home, the Yakima Community; and their Profession; their fellow brewers and the suppliers that support them.
Single Hill was having a third round of a fresh hop competition, at the time, which they called a Fresh Hop Rodeo. It consisted of three fresh hop IPAs in which Single Hill collaborated with three different breweries using a base of fresh, wet, Hopsteiner Sultana and Haas HBC 1019. Hoppy drank a flight of these three beers along with five other fresh hop ales that were on draft. They were as follows:
California Tristan Fresh Hop IPA – Brewed with Highland Park Brewing out of Los Angeles. The Rodeo 3 base was elevated with a generous serving of dried Citra from Loza Farms, HBC 1019 from Haas, and Loftus Ranches Idaho7. 6.5% ABV, 45 IBU. (This was the winning beer of the third round of the Fresh Hop Rodeo.)
Social Piranha Fresh Hop IPA – Brewed with Obelisk Beer Co. from Astoria, OR. In addition to the Rodeo 3 base, it was dry hopped with Loza Farms Citra, Perrault586, Haas 1019 and Segal Ranch Anchovy hops. 6.5% ABV, 45 IBU.
Bridal Threat Fresh Hop IPA – Brewed with ISM Brewing, out of Long Beach, CA. ISM stacked the Rodeo 3 base with CLS Farms Chinook, Van Horn Farms Mosaic and 2023 Cascade Cryo. 6.5% ABV, 45 IBU
Green Harvester Fresh Hop IPA – Fresh, wet, Loftus Ranches and Tributary Hop Farms Mosaic with Fresh AF Pellets of Loftus HBC 630 and Idaho 7. Collaboration with Bale Breaker Brewing, Yakima. 6.3% ABV, 45 IBU.
Fresh Hop Lateral A Juicy IPA – Described as juicy, dreamy, fresh. An amped up version of Lateral A with fresh, wet Loftus Ranches HBC 586 and fresh AF pellets of Perrault Farms HBC 586 & Talus and Haas Yakima Golding HBC 1019. Collaboration with Zeeks Pizza, Seattle. 6.4% ABV, 60 IBU.
Energy ConeFresh Hop IPA – Featuring fresh, wet Citra from Sauve and Son Farms & Loza Farms, Cashmere from Cornerstone Ranches; with Fresh AF Pellets of Cornerstone Cashmere, Loza Farms Citra, and CLS Farms Zappa. Collaboration with Bottleworks and Full Throttle Bottles in Seattle, and Bridge & Tunnel in Astoria, OR. 6.4% ABV, 40 IBU.
Cones of Hopshire Fresh Hop IPA – Featuring HBC 586 from Haas Yakima Golding Farms and Amarillo from Virgil Gamache Farms, this Fresh Hop IPA knows that it’s all about the cones. Collaboration with Urban Family Brewing, Seattle. 6.5% ABV, 50 IBU.
Fresh Hopped Charro Bebop IPA – Brewed with Wet Newhouse Simcoe, Haas Citra and Loza Rainier. Fresh AF pellets of Haas Citra, Loza Amarillo, CLS Zappa and Van Horn Cascade. International collaboration with Transpeninsular and Aguamala of Ensenada, Mexico and DevilCraft and Inkhorn Brewing of Tokyo, Japan. 6.5% ABV, 50 IBU.
Hoppy’s favorite was the Cones of Hopshire.
Pictures at Single Hill follow.
ExteriorTaproom SeatingLine to Order at BarBarDraft Board/TapsFresh Hop Beer ListOutdoor PatioOutdoorSeating Firepit/SeatingHop Bines
‘Tis the season for colorful leaves, Oktoberfests, fresh hop ales and pumpkin beers! After attending Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, Hoppy tried unsuccessfully to obtain tickets to a sold-out Yakima Fresh Hop Festival. Instead of pining away, Hoppy went directly to the hop fields and Bale Breaker Brewing where they craft fresh-off-the-farm brews from their family’s fourth generation hop farm. They started brewing in 2013 and have since grown to become Washington State’s fourth largest independent craft brewery, with a 30-barrel brewhouse at a 27,000 square foot facility.
While there, Hoppy was able to drink a flight of six fresh hop ales. These were:
Rollin’ Cones Fresh Hop Cold IPA PinthouseCollab – Brewed with Pinthouse Brewing from Austin, TX. It features fresh picked Citra hops paired with Simcoe, HBC 586, Mosaic and Superdelic hops which give this crisp IPA citrus, tropical and honeydew aromas. 6.8% ABV, 45 IBU.
The George & Brian Fresh Hop IPA – Described as brewed with flaked rice and lager yeast this Mosaic fresh hop IPA is light-bodied yet intensely aromatic with a smoot finish. Featuring fresh Mosaic, HBC 586 Cryo and Nectaron hops for pineapple, peach, spruce and resin aromatics. 6.6% ABV, 48 IBU.
Citra Slicker Fresh Hop IPA Cloudburst Collab – This is a Citra fresh hop collaboration with Cloudburst Brewing in Seattle. 6.2% ABV, 60 IBU.
Homegrown Fresh Hop IPA – Features Bale Breaker’s homegrown hops and barley. 6% ABV, 60 IBU.
Fresh Hop Frenz IPA Russian River Collab – This is a fresh hop West Coast IPA collaboration with Russian River Brewing from Santa Rosa and Windsor, California. It is described as releasing captivating aromas of grapefruit, peach, mango and resin and features freshly picked Simcoe, Citra cryo, and HBC 586 hops. 6.9% ABV, 65 IBU.
Piled High Fresh Hop IPA – Brewed in the middle of a hop field this might just be one of the freshest fresh hop beers around. It took just four minutes to get these wet Citra hops out of the picking machine at Loftus Ranches and into the brew kettle. 6.9% ABV, 75 IBU.
My fave that night was the Rollin’ Cones, however I have had the Fresh Hop Frenz again since, and I believe that to be one of my favorite beers ever!
Pictures from the Yakima taproom follow:
Bar & Indoor SeatingMerchandiseFrsh Hop FlightFresh Hop Draft ListCovered SeatingOutdoor SeatingOutdoor Seating/Fire PitsFlames Performing an Artistic Dance Off of a Gas HeaterPatrons Enjoying the Fire
Oktoberfest Zinzinnati is an annual weekend festival that began in 1976 and is based on the original German Oktoberfest. It is the largest Oktoberfest celebration in the United States. Billed as “America’s Oktoberfest” it is presented by Samuel Adams and Hamilton County, Ohio. Hoppy attended it on a Sunday while the Bengals were playing a home game.
While there, he enjoyed Samuel AdamsOktoberfest. It is described as a classic style Marzen that blends rich malts for a hearty, smooth flavor with notes of caramel creating a brew that’s perfect for a season or whatever you’re celebrating. It is 5.3% ABV, 16 IBU.
