Continuing our discussion of fresh hop ales, I popped open a bottle of Great Northern Brewing Co.’s 2010 Frog Hop Fresh Hopped Pale Ale, one of Western Montana’s versions of these brews featuring freshly picked – and not dried – hops. The hops for this brew come from the Purple Frog Gardens outside Whitefish, MT and only a few miles from the brewery.  According to Great Northern “each Chinook, Mt. Hood, Cascade and Nugget hop cone was plucked from its stem by a member of the GNBC family.”  Now that’s cool.

The beer pours a pale golden color with a hint of green. There is a excellent, thick white head. The aroma is very delicate with a bit of grain malt and some light grass and floral hops. The flavor, too, is delicate. Those needing an explosion of hops will want to look elsewhere.  In fact, when I reviewed this beer last year, it is clear that my expectations ruled over reality. Sometimes what we want or expect a beer to be gets in the way of enjoying a beer for what it is actually trying to be.  Great Northern’s version is light bodied beer with a balance of grain malt and light hops with a touch of citrus fruit in there as well.   It doesn’t feature the locally grown hops as much as I’d like, but is a very pleasant, easy drinking, lighter brew that provides a nice counter to the heavier fall brews that tend to dominate this season.  Enjoy it now. It won’t be around long.