ON THE HOP

Hop Hash, Caldera Brewing Company, 650ml bottle, RRP R72-R95

T he latest brewery from the States to make an appearance here has some — shall we say — interesting ideas. Caldera Brewing Co. is from Ashland in Oregon, a state which is home to many US craft beer pioneers, like Deschutes and Full Sail. Although Oregon is less than a quarter the size of South Africa, it has roughly double the breweries that we do, so differentiation is important. That’s why Caldera has beers like Vas Deferens, an oddly spicy Belgian ale brewed with blood orange zest and bitters, and the wonderfully named Hopportunity Knocks. While both these stand-outs from Caldera have made their way to South Africa — along with a quartet of canned beers from their core line — it’s their Hop Hash that stands out. Its premise is, frankly, hilarious: a world-first collaboration with renowned hop producers Hopunion, Hop Hash is brewed with pure lupulin glands — the yellow powder that gives hops their bitterness, taste and aroma — that have been scraped from Hopunion’s production lines. Appetizing.

Caldera liken the composition of the beer to a potato breakfast hash: a little bit of this, a little bit of that; hence the name. And like a good hash, everything in this beer coheres; that is, if pure hop essence is your idea of a good time.

Hop Hash pours hazy amber with a satisfying 2cm off-white head. Delicious lupulin hits immediately — if you’ve ever crushed a fresh hop cone, that’s what it smells like; if not, think resin, citrus rind, springtime dew. Some might find the first sip harsh; others will find a fresh, piney bomb of bitterness. It’s gleefully unrestrained. Further down the glass, however, Hop Hash mellows. It becomes more malt-forward. The bitterness takes a backseat, whether by design or from your palate adjusting to the acid assault. There’s bark, there’s woodiness, with a dry, herbal, petal-fresh finish. A beer that will leave some drinkers breathless — probably more for better than for worse.