Weekend Brews ... The Series Begins!

Friday. The day known to all of us working folk as the first glimpse of hope of relaxation and free time to do whatever the hell we want to. Alright, maybe it's not all that glorious, but it is a chance to happily seek out a new tasty beer to sample and tell you about.

So, now that it is Friday, who wants a couple-ah ice cold beers?

Every week I plan on writing about a new beer or beers to get your weekend going. You only really have two days off, so it's important that you drink some delicious beers while you have the chance. And for that reason, I have decided to start the new series, "Weekend Brews." Trust me, this is going to be good for all of us.

For this premiere entry of "Weekend Brews", I've selected a fine 1 pint, 6 fl.oz. bottle of Fresh Hop Pale Ale from the Great Divide Brewing Company of Denver, Colorado. It's always a little bit more special when your pouring from a big old bottle as opposed to the old 12 oz. standard.

Once poured, the pale ale sets up in the glass nicely. A frothy head sits atop the translucent amber liquid just begging me to taste it. That foamy goodness dissipates quickly to the edge of beer, but leaves a pleasing white lace covering around the sides of the vessel. And the smell...

... Ahhhhhhhhh, the aroma of the gods. This being a "fresh hop pale ale", it is filled with that crisp scent of grass that was just cut on a dew-filled morning. Well, it's not like a PGA golf tournament or anything, but I'd love to open my window at sunrise and have that slap me in the face.

See, Great Divide Brewing Co. is lucky enough to have the connections to get their hops right at the peak of the harvest season shipped overnight to the brewery. This unique flower and grass character can really only be achieved by using hops that fresh... and considering the fact that the fresher the hops, the more you need to impact flavor, the beer is a tiny bit pricey. It's nothing crazy, but it will run you $6-$7 for the bottle.

Alright, enough with the nonsense, what the hell does it taste like?

Oh man it's good. Nicked with a touch of bitterness, it has a stellar bite with an ample amount of sweetness. The bitterness is the feature here though, and I think it works well with the fresh hop smell.

This beer's not as intense as say a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, but it does the trick. It may not be an everyday beer, but I definitely recommend that you drink one down considering they only get the chance to brew with hops this fresh once a year.

Grab one today or tomorrow and give your weekend a little extra slice of happiness pie.

Overall score on this one: 4.0 out 5.0.

Drink it.


Remember, I'll be featuring your Weekend Brews every Friday from now on. So drop down some comments and if you have some suggestions for upcoming Weekend Brews, let me know.

Prost!