Episode Details

In both 2024 and 2025, Jake Watt, head brewer at Trap Door in Washougal, Washington, took home gold medals in the GABF fresh hop category for his beer, Fresher Than Fresh. Interestingly, the recipes for each of those beers was quite different—and the recipe for the 2026 edition that he’ll submit this year will see more changes as well. Fresh-hopped beers are a moving target, ephemeral in nature, and making the best possible beers today means using all the things—unkilned cones harvested that morning, Cryo Fresh pellets, flowable hop products, and even a touch of Riwaka here and there.

In this episode, Watt shares insights into the iterative changes and evolving ingredients in Trap Door’s medal-winning fresh-hopped beer. Along the way, he touches on:

• unlocking the best Mosaic character with Krush and Riwaka
• using deep-cut Cascade with additional thiol character
• flavor stability in fresh-hopped beers when hot-side hopping
• taking advantage of fresh-hop season to gain access to specific lots from certain growers
• focusing on Oregon-grown hops for fresh-hopped beers due to earlier pick windows
• mechanically chopping fresh cones
• controlling dilution and pH rise in fresh-hopped beers
• layering in character with fresh-frozen hop pellets
• sneaking smaller amounts of Cryo Fresh into beers not labeled as fresh hops
  

And more.

This episode is brought to you by:

G&D Chillers
G&D’s new Elite 290 Micro-series is built for brewers who care about sustainability and performance. It runs on a natural refrigerant with near-zero global warming potential (GWP), has a compact footprint, and features variable-speed fans for efficiency. We’ve chilled beer for more than 3,000 breweries across North America, and with 24/7 support and remote monitoring, your cold side stays dialed in—day or night. Get the details on natural-refrigerant technology at gdchillers.com/podcast.

Berkeley Yeast
At the World Beer Cup this year: Gold for West Coast IPA; Gold for Session IPA; Bronze, Silver, and Gold for New Zealand IPA; Bronze, Silver, and Gold for Classic IPA. All these beers were fermented with one yeast: FRESH™ Chico, Berkeley’s low-diacetyl ale yeast.There’s something you need to know: Diacetyl is not just a pass or a fail. Yes, at high levels, it’s tragically bad. But even at low levels, it masks the good flavors. So if you want hop notes to pop, you need diacetyl to be ultra-low. These brewers trust Berkel ey Yeast for an ultra-clean fermentation because on the finals table, every little detail matters. And now FRESH™ Chico is available in dried bricks for as low as $88 at berkeleyyeast.com.

PakTech
This episode is sponsored by PakTech—delivering craft-beer multipacking you can trust. Our handles are made from 100 percent recycled plastic and are fully recyclable, helping breweries close the loop and advance the circular economy. With a minimalist design, durable functionality you can rely on, and custom color matching, our carriers help brands stand out while staying sustainable. Trusted by craft brewers nationwide, we offer a smarter, sustainable way to carry your beer. To learn more, visit paktech-opi.com.

Indie Hops
Oregon hop country is heaven to world-class lager varieties, and Indie Hops is proud to