When you get older, having anything that reminds you of a fun memory is priceless! I remember getting my oldest the Huffy Green Machine and how crazy cool it was. It could support, I believe, up to 180 lbs., so I could ride it too!
When I discovered that Corn Coast Brewing had a West Coast IPA called Green Machine, I was intrigued to try it. The label showed it was made with Simcoe Cryo Fresh hops, but what does that mean? According to Yakima Chief Hops, these are “Simcoe hops harvested fresh in the field and immediately frozen (un-kilned) to lock in delicate oils and lupulin gland integrity rather than going through traditional drying.” I think of these hops as as close as you can get to harvest-fresh hops.
My nose detected grapefruit aroma as I raised the glass for my first sip. The notes were definitely grapefruit peel, berry, and pine in this light, nicely carbonated IPA. The finish is a bold hop punch that becomes even more pronounced as this 6.7% beer warms.
Always fun to learn about the new ways hops make their way into a great West Coast IPA.
Cheers!