Cheers to fresh hop beers! Next month, during Alberta Beer Week happening October 15 to 23, a celebration to honour fresh hop beers will be held. Freshtival will take place October 21 and is hosted by the Alberta Hop Producers Association in association with Craft Beer Commonwealth – a joint venture between Blindman Brewing, Red Hart Brewing, and Red Shed Malting.

As hop harvest takes place in September to prepare for the upcoming month, Freshtival is ideally timed for a celebration. The festival will include local breweries showcasing how they use local hops to create their flavours in their beers. Fresh hops are harvested as whole, wet cones and are delivered to breweries in less than 36 hours. Untouched by any aspect of the production process, they allow brewers to experience the quality of our hops straight from the bine, which is what makes them so unique.

Image courtesy of Alberta Beer Week