Russell Brewing Farm Fresh IPA: A latecomer to the fresh hop market, this IPA is brewed to a strength of 6.5% abv and features 48 IBUs worth of Centennial, Cascade and Chinook hops from Chilliwack’s Sartori hop farm. I was surprised to see a fresh hop release from Russell to be honest, I wasn’t expecting them to get into this game at all, but good for them in doing so!
Aroma and Appearance: It pours with three fingers of white foam, a clear copper colour and an average level of carbonation. The aroma is very malt forward, showcasing toffee, black plums, raisins, with herbal tea and tangerine citrus notes on the side.
Flavour: Like the aroma, it has a very malt forward flavour up front, featuring plums, raisins and chewy bread. In the middle some mild tangerine and peaches appear before it finishes with a dry grapefruit rind aftertaste and hints of lemon bitterness.
Overall Impression: It’s a nice beer, a bit more malt heavy than I was expecting, but that was ultimately a good thing.
Rating: I give it a very good rating of 7/10, the fresh hops were subtle, but present and it was an enjoyable beverage that’s worth trying.
Food Pairing: Steak bites or a nice meaty appetizer would pair up perfectly with this malty beer.
Here you can see them just about ready to add the fresh hops into the kettle. This picture was posted on September 8th so I am surprised this didn’t hit the market until October 30th, but who knows maybe they had a packaging delay. Be sure to Like their page if you want to stay up to date with their seasonal releases and happenings around town.
West Coast Beer Geek 