Hop Union Brew School 2011

Last weekend I was in Yakima, WA and participated in the 8th annual Hop Union LLC, Brew School.  It was fun, exciting and very motivational.  The speakers were out of this world, from Jamie Floyd of Ninkasi to Gary Glass, director American Homebrewers Association.  The school was a two day class that focused on hops grown in the Yakima Valley.  Yakima Valley is the largest hop producing area in the U.S.  If you are a hop head like me then you would thoroughly enjoy this class.  We drank IPA, IIPA's, Belgiums, Stouts, Browns and everyother style created, even Sour's. Class started at 8:30am and bottles were popped then all the way to 9pm.  Long days!  Real hard work!

This truck was unloading when class started Thursday morning.  The bales are 200lb each.  The two employees are taking a brewers sample.  Some will go to the lab to determine the alpha percentage and the rest of the sample will be saved for the professional brewers.  Next week brewers from all around the world will visit Hop Union LLC, to sample and purchase contracts for whole leaf and pellet hop contracts for 2012.

This is what they get to play with when experimenting with different hop varieties.  This particular pilot system with 4 conical fermentors cost around 30K.

THB, aka Tucker House Brewery has offically signed Hop Union's concrete wall in their Man Cave.

Pool, Foos Ball, Air Hockey and Ping Pong.  Add some delicious draft beer and you have a party!!!

This is what a pelletizing plant looks like.  The large 200lb bales go up the conveyor belt and get chopped up.  Then the get pressed in a dye and come out as pellets.

These are European varieties that Hop Union Imports to supply some American Breweries as well as the Brewcraft Home Brewer Packaging line.  We were able to rub, crush and extract the aromas just like a brewer would as if they came to purchase.  Hops are very sticky and the lupulin (the yellow powder that contains the bitter resin) gets all over your hands and nose. 

Here is Patrick Smith and his father.  Patrick is a 4th generation hop farmer.  Their farm is Loftus Ranches.  Loftus is part of the American Organic Hop Growers Association.  They only produce a small percent of organic hops, but they see a trend starting and are adding more and more acreage towards organic hops each year.

 Cutting the hops at the base.

Cutting off of the trelis.

Going through the picker.

The mountain of green sticky gold!  If anyone can make it to Yakima next year I highly recommend joing the class.  It was an experience that I will never forget!  Its time to brew some beer.
BTW, all the hops being harvested during this tour were Simcoe.