Today we’re lucky to be tapping a beer I’ve heard a lot about but haven’t ever got to try, Moonlight Brewing’s “Weak in the Knees” fresh-hopped IPA. (This is similar to their past beers “Greenbud” and “Homegrown”, which have been on at the Toronado and other Northern California places. But I understand the recipe is a little different this year.)
Brian Hunt, brewer/owner of Moonlight, grows hops on his property outside of Santa Rosa. When the hops are ready for picking, they go into beer at Moonlight Brewing and also at Russian River Brewing in Santa Rosa.
hop flowers at Moonlight Brewery
Apparently the hop flower is very unstable and degrades very quickly after picking, like within hours. Most beers accordingly use either hop oil, or hops that have been preserved through drying or pelletization.
A “fresh-hopped” beer, on the other hand, takes hops directly from the field and puts them in the kettle where the wort (future beer) is boiling. One of the most widely distributed beers of this type is Deschutes’ Hop Trip ale. Deschutes tells of driving across Oregon from the hop fields (apparently almost all US hops are grown in the PNW) to their brewery in Bend, racing through the night to get the fresh hops to the kettle.
One imagines that the process is a little less dramatic at Moonlight, were the kettle is about, oh, 100 feet from the hop fields. However, the lack of Robert Mitchumesque hijinks should only make the beer better, as Mr. Hunt is as good as they get.
I’m told that Dean from San Diego Brewing Co. brought this beer to us from Northern California (Moonlight beer does not distribute in Southern California), and for that we are most grateful.
UPDATE (#1): Scott Blair of Hamilton’s Tavern informs me that he played Isabella to Dean’s Columbus (in keeping with the spirit of the weekend).
UPDATE (#2): Blair also informs me that a unique fact about this beer is that no hops go into the kettle at all, it’s dry-hopped only, which accounts for part of its unique character. That is interesting.