Made with fresh hops from Tasmania, Cascade Brewery is marking its 200th anniversary with its limited-edition First Harvest beer.
Cascade first trialled making a fresh hops beer 20 years ago, but this is only the fourth consecutive year it has made the variety.
First hops beers can only be made once a year, with the beer having to be brewed less than a day after the hops are picked fresh off the bine (a long, flexible stem of a climbing plant) in March.
Cascade Brewery head brewer, Brendan Flanagan, said a special beer was needed this year to celebrate the 200-year milestone.
“This year’s Cascade First Harvest is a well-balanced fresh hop Pale Ale, with a tropical
passionfruit and melon aroma and red fruit undertones, complemented by biscuity malt character and a crisp finish,” Flanagan said.
“Fresh hop beers have a distinctive, earthy flavour, which beer drinkers have grown to love as they experiment with new tastes and smells. It’s as much an adventure for us in the brewery, as the hop aromatics develop over time,” he said.
First Harvest is brewed using fresh Enigma hops grown by Hop Products Australia (HPA) at their Bushy Park Estates farm in Tasmania’s Derwent Valley, combined with dry Tasmanian Cascade and Galaxy hops.
Because of its limited run, the beer sells out quickly. This year Cascade added an extra 220 kegs to the already limited run to brew 400 kegs, served fresh on tap.
Most beer is brewed using dry hop pellets due to the once-a-year harvest to ensure a constant supply of beer.
Hop Products Australia head of sales & marketing, Owen Johnston, said First Harvest was a “true celebration” of Tasmanian beer and agriculture.
“At no other time of the year can you enjoy a beer that is perfectly seasoned with hops that were harvested mere hours before they arrived at the brewery. It’s an opportunity not to be missed,” Johnston said.
