EASTHAMPTON – Abandoned Building Brewery recently released its Hoppy Valley IPA, their seasonal beer. They only brew one batch of it a year, so owner and Head Brewer Matthew Tarlecki predicts this one will last until mid-Octotober

“In the Northern hemisphere, hops are harvested around August and September. It is the only time of the year brewers can easily obtain freshly harvested hops that are picked and then added to the special wet-hopped beers all in the same day, sometimes just hours from being picked,” Tarlecki said.

Tarlecki shared some background information on what wet hopped means.

He said it means that the hops are added to the brew in their undried fresh state. Most of the time after hops are picked, they are dried, turned into a powder, and formed into pellets for storage and stability. The flavors and aromas from wet hopped beers are completely different from conventional hopped beers that use the pelleted form of hops. Tarlecki said they brew this seasonal beer to capture the essence of the local freshly harvested hop flavors, because Cascade hops that are from northern Massachusetts do not taste or smell the same as Cascade hops grown in Washington and Oregon.

Each year the recipe slightly changes. This year it was made with fresh whole cones of “wet” Cascade hops from Four Star Farms in Northfield and malted barley and malted rye from Valley Malt Malthouse in Hadley.

“This year the flavor is very floral with notes of fresh-cut summer grass and a hint of fresh orange zest,” Tarlecki said.

He shared that Hoppy Valley IPA takes about six days from brew day to complete fermentation, another four days for dry hopping, and another seven days to condition before packaging.

Abandoned Building Brewery has been brewing since March of 2014. Tarlecki said he had been homebrewing for about eight years and was volunteering at a brewpub.

“The whole brewing process and the community that supports the brewing industry was appealing to me, so I left my day job as a civil engineer and decided to open a brewery,” said Tarlecki.

Monday through Friday all of their beers are available to purchase online at abandonedbuildingbrewery.com for curbside pickup from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Also on their website, they have a list of where their beers are sold.

Every Thursday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. The brewery has seated outdoor patio service featuring a local food truck.