BY MATT STEVENS by WEEKLY VOLCANO | 11/6/2026
Even though we’re at the start of November, there are still some fresh hop beers out there, and I snagged myself one down at 7 Seas – they did have three fresh hops on tap when I was in. This one is the Hop Prophet IPA. This beer is a little smaller, coming in at 5.5% alcohol.
Appearance wise, the Hop Prophet is very golden, with a small white head on the top. The head does run away a bit quicker than is ideal to me. I would love a beer where the head sits to last. The beer is very clear for an IPA.
Hop Prophet packs a big old fruity punch in the nose. It has mango and pineapple alongside orange-peel galore. That is fun! Those are smells I associate with a hazy IPA, but this is a crystal-clear beer. It’s a rather interesting contrast with so many hazy IPAs on the market, with this beer smelling like one, but definitely not looking like a hazy.
Fresh hop beers are brewed during hop picking season – mid-August to mid- October. Standard procedures for hop farmers is to pick hops, dry them, pelletize the hops into small green pellets that look like extra fun rabbit poop, or smoother the hops leaves into very tight packages for storage and shipping to breweries. With fresh hops, there is generally no drying or pelletizing the hops. The hops are tossed as quickly as possible into the boil, or the fermentation into a dry hopped beer. They may impart slightly different flavors – more fresh and less bitterness than dried and stored hops.
Taste-wise, the fruit is a bit subdued. It’s a smooth pale ale with hints of mango and orange. The big beautiful citrus flavors I had in the nose aren’t as strong in the beer; it’s still tasty, but those flavors have eased away a bit.
Mouthfeel, this beer is an easy drinking, medium alcohol pale ale. The overall flavor doesn’t quite match up to that delicious nose, but it’s a solid beer.
Overall, I very much enjoyed this beer. It’s a great two-beer drinking session. Sit on one of the stools at 7 Seas and look out at the city, or go to the other side and watch the brewers work in the brewery.
7 Seas Brewing is at 2101 Jefferson Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402
