Hop Mob kicks off on February 10th.
The main goal of Washington Hop Mob is to highlight beers of exceptional hop character, created by breweries in Washington state. You can read more about Hop Mob and the kind of beers that qualify here. The beers are featured at a series of events spread out over ten days.
There are now six events on the calendar. Given the state of things, nobody wanted to commit to hosting a Hop Mob event until they were sure they could pull it off. Understandable. The good news is, we now have five places that have stepped up, albeit at the eleventh hour, to host events. Like I said, understandable that folks wanted to wait before committing to hosting an event. I list the events below.
Hop Mob Beers
This year, 14 breweries created beers for WA Hop Mob. Add to that, one collaboration beer, so maybe that number should be 15. Some of the breweries created more than one beer. I share the list below.
Bickersons Brewhouse – The ISH -A 9% confused Hazy IPA that thinks it’s a west coast IPA. Tripled dry-hopped for balance, this IPA comes in at 80 IBU for a west coast kick but it’s a hazy. Idaho 7, Strata in the boil and whirlpool but dry-hopped with Galaxy and Motueka for a tropical punch. Brewery with taproom in Renton.
Cairn Brewing – Multiverse Hazy Double IPA, 8% ABV \ 60 IBU – Inspired by the alchemic combination of our HopTraverse Galaxy and Multiplayer Hazy IPA, Multiverse Hazy Double IPA is a meeting of two worlds. Taking the juicy profiles of Citra, Amarillo, and Galaxy hops to create a tropical potion of haze, we added West Coast flair for a surprising bitter finish. A smooth Hazy with a twist! Brewery and taproom in Kenmore.
Future Primitive Brewing – Chemistry of Consciousness Triple IPA. Packed full of Cryo Pop and Sorachi Ace hops and weighing in at 11% abv. Brewery and taproom in White Center.
Flying Lion Brewing – Double Rye IPA, 7.7% ABV, 80 IBUs. Available on draft, in cans, and growlers. Brewery and taproom in Seattle. Like an El Camino, fruity party in front, bitter business in the back. Intense flavors of melon, blood orange, and spicy rye. Huell Melon and Meridian hops give a crisp bitterness to round out this hop-packed, Double IPA.
Hellbent Brewing – Lucky Juciano Hazy IPA. Available in can and kegs. This IPA is bursting with coconut, stone fruit, and just the right amount of bitterness. Lucky Juiciano is fruity, but not too juicy, with just the right amount of bitterness to still be an IPA. Who couldn’t use a little luck on their side? Especially when it tastes this good. Brewery and taproom in Seattle, and also a taproom in Wenatchee.
Ladd & Lass Brewing – Holographic Memory.- With absurd amounts of Centennial, Cryo Citra and Citra, and Sabro, this beer is so good it’ll make your photographic memory holographic. This is a “collab” with our good friend Ryan, with whom we brewed our very first batch of homebrew. Collab is in quotes because he came by the brewery during his lunch hour, poured a bunch of hops into the kettle, and left. Thanks for the assist and the dope beer name, Ryan!The beer is still wrapping up fermentation, but should land in the 9.5% ABV range. Brewery and taproom in Seattle.
MIRAGE – A collaboration with Halcyon Brewing. A NE-style DIPA brewed with ~40#/bbl of frozen Mosaic fresh hops. Dry-hop still to be determined but it’ll def have , more Mosaic, Mosaic Lupomax, Mosaic Spectrum, etc. 8.2% ABV, 55IBU. MIRAGE has brewery in Seattle (no taproom), Halcyon has brewery and taproom in Seattle.
Old Stove Brewing – Piston Hondo. Double IPA spiked with a special third dry-hopping charge of Sultana hops. ABV: 8.2%, IBU: 70. Brewery and pub in Seattle.
Optimism Brewing – Interrobang ABV: 7.1%. Double Dry Hopped with Eldorado, Citra, Cashmere hops this beer has a prominent aroma of ripe mango, orange citrus and white gummy bears. Brewery and taproom in Seattle.
Postdoc Brewing – Hogus Maximus Triple IPA. This Triple IPA is a total button mashing nonstop hop experience! Train your palette as you explore the vast realms of CTZ, Centennial, and Simcoe. Uncover the treasure inside the can as it overflows with flavors of pine, resin, grapefruit, and citrus! Level up as you drink through the crisp malt backbone to unlock every delicious drop, and invite a friend along to join in your adventures! Be the hero you were always meant to be. Brewery and taproom in Redmond.
Reuben’s Brews – Three beers this year: Supreme Triumvirate (a 9% version of Triumvirate, brewed in collaboration with Brouwer’s and Bottleworks, the second release in our 10th Anniversary Series), Triple Crush (triple IPA), and Blimey That’s Bitter (triple IPA). Brewery and taproom in Seattle.
Wander Brewing – It’s Mauve, Double IPA. 7.6%. Hopped with Idaho 7 and Centennial, Inspired by a video: JayZ and Beyonce Have Left the Building; “It’s not pink, it’s mauve.” Brewery and taproom in Bellingham.
Wandering Hop Brewing – two different beers for Hop Mob this year. Brewery and taproom in Yakima.
Watts Brewing – Murder Hornet. Triple IPA – 9.5% ABV. Murder Hornet is the biggest, meanest IPA we’ve brewed to date, clocking in at 9.5% ABV. Despite the high gravity, this beer is dry as a bone, with the malt getting the heck out of the way of all these hops. We packed the whirlpool to the brim with Nelson Sauvin, Mosaic, and Idaho 7 hops, then dry hopped it with the same. Twice. Brewery in Bothell, no taproom.
Hop Mob Events
Here is the list of events as of February 5th. Maybe more folks will hop aboard to host events at the last minute. For now, here’s what’s up.
Thursday, Feb. 10th – Seattle – At Brouwer’s Cafe, Seattle: Hop Mob Kickoff. We had high hopes for this year, thinking we might see a transition from pandemic to endemic, maybe getting back to a sense of normality! But no, not yet! By design, Hop Mob is a large gathering, and while we’d certainly enjoy seeing all of you, standing shoulder to shoulder, drinking great beers, we can’t in good conscience do that quite yet! Hop Mob is about brewers brewing the beer they think has the best hop expression (yummy hops!), and we’ve decided to still host it, but in a much more subdued way. Brouwers will host Hop Mob on February 10th with 13 event-specific, deliciously hoppy beers on draft.
Friday, Feb. 11th thru 13th – Purdy – At Local Boys Taproom. It’s hard to grasp that we’ve been pouring some of the best Washington beers for six years now. We’ve managed to tie a Hop Mob event into our anniversary party every year along with our Barrel Aged takeover and this year the list is epic. Our list of 40 Washington taps for the event borders on the sadistic.
In addition to as many Hop Mob beers that we can get our hands on (we’re at ten right now), we have an awesome list of Barrel Aged Darks. On the list is the award-winning Varietal Grievous Angel, Skookum Caverns, Fremont Brew 5000, Fremont 12th Anniversary Stout, Rusty Nail, Dark Star, Dark Star Spice Wars, B-Bomb, B-Bomb Coffee Cinnamon, Old Stove Empire of Bob Imperial Stout, Old Stove Absinthe Minded Imperial Rye Wine and Heathen Reindeer Tears.
On Friday, Bob Hill (founder of The Swiss) makes his annual appearance behind the bar along with Local Boys Taproom Partners Trevor and Bobby. Tasting flights are always available. 1/2 pints are strongly suggested but if you really want a full pint, we can do that. Designated drivers are strongly suggested and we have some tasty Mela Washington Watermelon Waters for those that wish to keep their BAC at zero.
Saturday, Feb. 12th – Seattle – At Reuben’s Brews: taproom. A Hop Mob event of sorts at Reuben’s Brews. Reuben’s will release Supreme Triumvirate (a 9% version of Triumvirate, brewed in collaboration with Brouwer’s and Bottleworks, the second release in our 10th Anniversary Series) and Triple Crush. Those two big IPAs will join Blimey That’s Bitter, which will already be on tap. Also, three guests IPAs (Ladd & Lass Brewing, Postdoc Brewing, Bickerson’s Brewhouse) to round out the event. They will offer a flight of all six beers available, plus the first release of Triple Crush cans and Supreme Triumvirate cans (which will be debuted on Thurs 2/10 at Brouwer’s!)
Monday, Feb. 14th – Seattle – at Beveridge Place Pub. For the (hop) lover in us all! We’ll have a dozen hop-forward creations from the great beer state of Washington – single, double, and even TRIPLE IPAs will be featured! (taster trays encouraged)
Wednesday, Feb. 16th – Seattle – At The Growler Guys (Seattle). Some of the beers may go on tap sooner, but the main event is on the 16th.
Thursday, Feb. 17th – Friday, Feb. 18th – Seattle – At Halcyon Brewing – Details to be determined but they will tap at least 7 of the Hop Mob beers.
Saturday, February 19th – Kirkland – At Thirsty Hop from 12:00 – 9:00 PM. We will have at least 6 Hop Mob beers to tap. We will offer full glass pours and taster flights of these beers. We will also have a voting process to determine the favorites among Hop Mob attendees and post the results on our social media pages the following day.
We will update this post if more events join the calendar. Otherwise, keep an eye on the Hop Mob website.