Beer 101: Wet Hopping

Nobody with a full time job and family can be expected to come up with inspiring and uplifting posts about beer on a daily basis, not even me.  As such, I felt it would be appropriate to create some filler informative posts for the days I'm not reviewing beer, pubs or events.  If there is anything specific you would like a post on, let me know because although I don't know everything when it comes to beer or the brewing process, it's a great opportunity to research and learn.  With that in mind, allow me to introduce the first Beer 101 post for thebeerisgood.com.

Wet Hopping: If you've made it far enough along in my blog, you should know that most beer in the world contains hops.  As a matter of fact, all beer in America must contain at least some hops in order to be legally considered beer.  Depending on when and how hops are used in the brewing process, along with the type of hops used, they will give the beer citrus, floral, fruity or even bitter qualities.  Unlike dry hops that are dried for approximately 24 hours after being harvested, wet hops are immediately shipped off to the brewery, often being used within 24-48 hours of being picked.  The benefit of a brewery going out of their way to use wet hops is that the beer takes on more aromatic and fresh-tasting qualities.  This typically isn't practical for a home brewing operation, however it usually turns out great when the larger breweries incorporate this technique into their lineup.  A few examples of popular wet hopped beers includes Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale, Rogue Wet Hop Ale, Great Divide Fresh Hop Ale, and many, many more.

-Andy