Flow State: Fresh Hop by Reuben's Brews: the hops, explained

Fresh hop beer. Fresh (or “wet”) hops go from the bine to the kettle within hours, never kilned. The figures below are for the dried hop; fresh ones carry the same oils in a greener, brighter form, and brewers use several times the weight.

What it'll taste like

Grapefruit ×2
Passionfruit ×2
Cannabis
Citrus
Dank
Elderflower
Floral
Gooseberry
Guava
Lemon
Orchard fruit
Pine

What the 3 hops smell like, most shared first — from the hop growers' and breeders' own notes, not the brewery's. 3 from USA.

The hop bill

Comet
USA

Fresh hopregular

Orchard fruit, Elderflower, Passionfruit, Gooseberry, Guava

Bitterness High 8–12.4% α

Aroma oil 1–2 mL

Grown 2025: 209 ac Washington
Strata
USA

Passionfruit, Strawberry, Grapefruit, Cannabis, Dank

Bitterness Very high 12–15% α

Aroma oil 2.3–3.5 mL

Mostly myrcene 63%, humulene 28%

Grown 2025: 326 ac Oregon
Centennial
USA · Dual purpose

Citrus, Grapefruit, Lemon, Floral, Pine, Resinous

Bitterness High 7.8–11.5% α

Aroma oil 0.8–2.5 mL

Mostly myrcene 52%, humulene 13%

Grown 2025: 2,122 ac Washington · 417 ac Oregon

In the order Reuben's Brews lists them: Fresh Hop Comet, Comet, Strata, Centennial. From the brewery's page for this beer. Forms like Cryo and CO2 extract are the same variety processed differently.

Beers like this one · the closest hop bills on file

Pale Ale Chuckanut Brewery · shares Comet, Strata
Leo Rising Aslan Brewing · shares Strata, Centennial
Butternut v. Walnut Georgetown Brewing · shares Comet, Strata
Killer Green Double Mountain Brewery · shares Strata, Centennial
Flock Party Pelican Brewing · shares Strata, Centennial

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New to hop talk? What these words mean

Bitterness (alpha acid): How much bite a hop gives when it's boiled. Under 5% is gentle, 13%+ is a bruiser. It's why a West Coast IPA snaps and a pilsner doesn't.
Aroma oil: The smelly part of the hop — where the citrus, pine and tropical fruit come from. More oil, more punch when it's added late or dry-hopped.
Myrcene, humulene…: The main oils. Lots of myrcene reads fruity and resinous; humulene and caryophyllene read woody, herbal, spicy.
Aroma / bittering / dual purpose: What brewers mostly use the hop for: smell, bite, or both.
Fresh (wet) hop: Hops straight from the field into the beer, same day, never dried. Only at harvest, late August into October.
Cryo, CGX, LupoMax, Incognito: The same hop, processed: concentrated powder or extract, for more aroma with less vegetal taste.

In Brooks’s glass

Brooks hasn’t had this one yet.