Watch Breakside Brewery Freeze and Shatter Hops

True to its name, the crew at Breakside Brewery likes to break stuff -- boundaries, tradition, and now, quite literally, fresh hops. Late summer is the start of the fleeting fresh hop beer season, when brewers get to play with whole cones plucked from the vine instead of pellets made from dried hops. The whole fresh cones result in a supremely aromatic beer, but Breakside brewmaster Ben Edmunds says the fresh stuff has a chlorophyll character that gets in the way of what makes each varietal special. Recently he experimented with freezing the hops with liquid nitrogen first, then shattering them to see if the process is better at releasing the subtle flavors and aromas. Check out the steamy process on this video produced by The New School, then hit Breakside for a taste of the results -- the Fresh Hop Simcoe IPA is on tap now.