Big Rock Urban Brewery Cascade & Centennial Fresh Hop Showdown
Big Rock Urban Brewery did something unique with their unique fall-seasonal beer. What does that mean? well they brewed two, single hopped, fresh hop beers using the exact same ingredients and methodologies with one small difference. One beer used Cascade Hops while the other used Centennial. As two of the most popular and most iconic hops for BC brewed beers this is a great way to isolate the different flavour profile that each hop brings to the table.
Side by side these beers appear very similar, because they are. Both pour with two fingers of lightly lacing head and are close to an identical shade of amber colour. The centennial brew happens to appear slightly darker. Also, the Cascade was slightly cloudy compared to the centennial but this could just be that it was bottled from a lower part of the tank and received slightly more sediment. Even the colour differences between the beers are likely from deviance in brewing rather than the impact of the hops themselves. When you hold the glass up to your nose that is when things start to change. The aromas are similar with a nice malty base but the hop tones offer something slightly different from their fresh-hop ingredients.
The difference between these beers is very large. The centennial hop gives the beer a very unique dill like flavour with a touch of pepper and garlic while the iconic Cascade hop offers a more traditional citrus and floral tone. Both beers have a nice, smooth and malty base that acts as a serving platter for the hops. Neither are a massive hop explosion which allows you to really taste the flavour that each brings to the brew. You may not really expect these beers to be so different from one another but they are. Really, there may only be one ingredient that is different but that is enough to say that these are two, totally different and equally enjoyable beers.
Read the Big Rock Centennial Wet Hop IPA Review
Read the Big Rock Cascade Wet Hop IPA Review