Welcome to the hoppy adventures of Chronicle Brewing Co. as we take you on a journey to Yakima, the hop capital of the world!
Yakima is home to the Yakima Chiefs Hop & Brew School, held once a year and brewers attend from all over the world, hailing from as far away as Australia, Japan, Canada, etc. And the school has been running for almost 20 years. In early September, the three brewers at Chronicle Brewing Co. attended the hop school during the hop harvest with hundreds of other attendees from the globe.
Here are some interesting hoppy facts we picked up at the school:
- There are a lot of research about survivable components, i.e. flavour and aroma compounds which tend to get lost during the process. Using this knowledge we are able to make more flavourful beers in the future;
- We also learned that IPAs are here to stay and people are getting back to liking bitter west coast IPAs, and crispy lagers;
- The future of hops are in more advanced hop products like resin, oils and liquids.
Now, let's sit down with one of our attendees from Chronicle Brewing Co., brewer/owner, Ted, and hear about his incredible experience at the Yakima Chiefs Hop & Brew School.
Q: Ted, what was the most mind-blowing thing you learned at the school?
Ted: "The amount of equipment the farmers require to process the hops, and how time sensitive the processing needs to be done. When a crop is harvested, it needs to be harvested at the exact moment, plus minus an hour, or it could be lost.”
Q: Any favorite moments from the trip?
Ted: "Exploring the farms and eating Mexican food."
Q: Can you share a sneak peek of any exciting new brews inspired by your trip to Yakima?
Ted: "Absolutely! Get ready for our next IPA from our Adventurer’s Series, packed with a whirlwind of hop flavors. Trust me, you won't want to miss it!"
Stay tuned, fellow adventurers, for more hoppy tales and brews from Chronicle Brewing Co. Our journey has just begun!
