The annual Oregon Beer Awards ceremony won’t happen until the spring, but fresh hop results are already in. A team of 25 judges evaluated fresh hop beers from across Oregon this weekend so that they would be able to taste them at their peak freshness. The judges tried 123 fresh hop beers from 46 breweries statewide.

The Pacific Northwest is hop-growing paradise. Oregon is the second largest hop-producing state in the U.S., according to the Oregon Beverage Alliance, behind Washington and ahead of Idaho.

Beers entered into the OBA Fresh Hop categories may be any style, color or strength, according to the contest rules, but must include fresh hops at some point during the brewing or fermentation process. The OBAs define fresh hops as “newly harvested hops that have not been conventionally b

See Full Page