Drink up! It's fresh hops season!

If you enjoy drinking beer as I do, it's a real blessing to live in the Pacific Northwest, which has many hundreds of small breweries. Washington State also has the second largest number of wineries in the country, and probably ranks in the top two or three in total number of marijuana dispensaries. You want intoxicants? You've come to the right state. Washington is also the largest producer of hops in the country by far. Washington's hops get dried or pelletized and shipped to breweries all over the world. But not all of them. Some of them are used fresh to make fresh hops beers, something that can only be had for a short period of time. Like right now. Over a hundred years ago, the Seattle area grew most of the country's hops, in places like Kent and Puyallup, just southeast of the city. In the early 1880's, hops blight destroyed most of the European hops crop, and Western Washington became one of the world's major hop growing areas. But ten years later, aphids destroyed Western Washington's hops, and the farms were moved to the drier areas of eastern Washington, a couple of hundred miles away, where they've thrived ever since. Fresh hops beers are absolutely delicious. You taste the freshness without the major bitterness. I've had the pleasure of drinking fresh hops beers lately. Many local breweries are making it. I don't know when they'll disappear, but soon. Lowercase Brewing, in Seattle's South park neighborhood, is making a fresh hops pale ale with hops grown in the neighborhood.( Aphids may have killed them 120 years ago, but they still grow here very well.)Lowercase is one of the most underrated breweries around, but it's popular with people in the neighborhood. They don't serve food, or very little food, and encourage you to bring your own. South Park has one of Seattle's highest concentrations of Mexicans, so it's very easy to grab an excellent burrito to go and down it with an excellent beer. South Park also has a terrific pizza place. And two other small breweries. But I'm partial to Lowercase, who also makes a killer root beer. Lowercase Brewing 8103 8th Avenue S. Seattle Bellevue Brewing, on the other side of Lake Washington, also produces some delicious beer, including a fresh hops ale. They do serve food there, and its' good, in an unlikely warehouse district. Bellevue Brewing 1820 130th Pl NE ##2 Bellevue, WA Georgetown Brewing, in Seattle's artsy ,funky, industrial Georgetown neighborhood ,is one of Seattle's favorites. They make Manny's Pale Ale, which is on tap at almost every place that serves beer on tap. Even crappy places in Seattle that sell a lot of Miller or Bud have Manny's on tap. Manny's is a very smooth beer, and their fresh hop ale is also quite good. All in all, Georgetown Brewing is consistently very good, whether it's Manny's, or Lucille IPA, or Roger's Pilsener. Georgetown Brewing 5200 Denver Avenue S. Seattle, WA Odin Brewing is in Tukwila, a block from Southcenter mall. That's another family of beers that are consistently delicious, from their Kolsch to their IPA to their Amber ale made with juniper berries, these guys know what they're doing. So it's no surprise they have a very good fresh hop ale. Friendly place. Odin Brewing 402 Baker Blvd. Tukwila, WA There are many other breweries making fresh hops beers. Renton's Dog and Pony Alehouse has five of them currently on tap if you can't get to a brewery. Dog and Pony Alehouse 351 Park Avenue N Renton, WA Time's a wasting. Go drink some beer.