Driftwood New Growth Pale Ale

Brewer: Driftwood Brewery, Victoria, BC
Style: Session Ale
ABV: 5.5%

Description: Driftwood second seasonal release using Sartori harvest hops, which like its predecessor was made in honor of the return of locally brewed, hand-crafted ales. This time around, the beer is a sessional pale ale that is bittered using a combination of Centennial and Newport hops.

Tasting Notes: One can immediately taste the presence of Sartori Centennial hops in this brew, which came through in the noticeably aromatic and powerful herbal taste, not to mention the notes of pine, citrus and grass present throughout. The addition of Newport hops, on the other hand, offers  a layer of piney, resiny flavor not found in their Sartori Harvest IPA or in other Sartori-hopped ales. A good beer and definitely a must try for the hop heads out there!

Appearance: Light amber, clear, good foam retention and carbonation
Nose: Light malt, good nose of citrus, grassy hops
Taste: Smooth malt, good tang, herbal hops, piney, resiny, and citrus finish
Aftertaste: Lingering hop bitterness, citrus rind
Overall: 7.8/10

Philips Green Reaper Fresh Hop IPA

It seems just about everybody in Victoria was getting on the “wet-hopped” thing this past summer. First there was Hoyne’s Wolf Vine Pale Ale, then Driftwood’s Sartori Harvest IPA, and now Philips Green Reaper. What do these three venerable breweries and these most recent products have in common? They are all fresh-hopped (aka. wet hopped), meaning they use hops  that are local and fresh off the vine rather than of the usual, dried variety.

However, whereas the previous two beers used Sartori hops fresh from Vancouver, Philips uses Willamette hops were harvested from Nanaimo, mere hours before they were added to this latest limited release. Though I came to it late this past summer, I am happy to add it to my review lineup now.

Appearance: Light, rosy amber, good clarity, low foam
Nose: Light scent of floral and citrus hops
Taste: Light, sweet malts accented by mixed hops palate, herbal, mild citrus,
Aftertaste: Light bitterness, quite smooth and clean
Overall: 8/10

You may notice the word “light” being featured here a few times. Well, there’s a reason for that. As is the case with all fresh-hopped beers that I have now sampled, the flavors are quite subtle and smooth. There is of course the usual combination of citrus and grassy bitterness, but they come across as more subdued and layered. As we are now coming into winter, I have to admit that I will miss this variety of beer which I am quite new to. However, I’m quite sure the winter seasonals will keep me entertained until next summer!