Hey hopheads — I’ve got some good news.

Two unique “wet hopped” harvest ales from Sierra Nevada just showed up at the Boise Co-Op today, joining the two other excellent examples of fresh hop beers — the Hop Trip from Deschutes Brewery and the O’Brien’s Harvest Ale from Hale’s Ales.

All four of these beers are delicious — featuring an infusion of freshly picked hop flowers from this year’s harvest which impart fresh organic and grassy hop flavors and aroma to the brew — and are only available for a limited time.

What is really neat is getting our hands on two of Sierra Nevada’s wet hop styles, especially the Chico Estate Harvest Wet Hop Ale, available for the first time ever in bottles.

Sierra Nevada grows their own hops — Cascades, Centennials, and Chinooks — for this beer near their Chico, Calif. headquarters and take them directly to their brew kettles, without being dried, so you get all those resins and natural oils. Very cool. Sierra Nevada says it is one of the only commercially produced “estate” ales around, and I believe them.

The regular Sierra Nevada Wet Hop Harvest Ale uses freshly picked hops from Eastern Washington that are trucked down to Chino and used immediately during the brewing process.

Buy one of both ($4.49 for a 24 ounce bottle) and compare.

I really love Deschutes’ Hop Trip Ale for all the same reasons — the aroma is all grassy and herbs and citrus and you can really taste the fresh hops on your palate as the beer warms up.

I drank a 22 ounce bottle of this ($4.19 at the Co-Op) the other night as I ate a piece of cinnamon Bundt cake and the combination was sublime. Seriously — the sweetness of the cake really emphasized the hop finish.

One of the coolest things about beer and food pairings is being suprised how well the flavors can go together. Try whatever beers you like with the foods you like and see what happens.