Bale Breaker Announces 2023 Fresh Hop Lineup

Bale Breaker Brewing Company, a brewery located on their family’s 4^th generation hop farm in the beautiful Yakima Valley and known for their quick access to the freshest of fresh hops, is excited to announce their three canned fresh hop releases for this September: Homegrown Fresh Hop IPA, Fresh Hop Frenz IPA, and Citra Slicker Wet Hop IPA.

While Homegrown and Citra Slicker are staples in the brewery’s fresh hop lineup every harvest, Bale Breaker is building off the success of their Frenz Collaboration Series by brewing Fresh Hop Frenz IPA with longtime mentors and friends at Russian River Brewing Company. The brewers at both Bale Breaker and Russian River have a special place in their hearts for Simcoe®, so it was a no brainer that Fresh Hop Frenz IPA would feature freshly harvested Simcoe® hops from Loftus Ranches.

Over a decade ago, the owners of Bale Breaker became friends with Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo of Russian River Brewing Company when the California brewery owners would visit Bale Breaker’s family farm, Loftus Ranches, each harvest for hop selection. “Bale Breaker was still just a dream of ours when we first met Vinnie & Natalie,” says Bale Breaker co-owner Meghann Quinn. “Our shared passion for high-quality hops and high-quality beer is a big part of what inspired us to start Bale Breaker. Our friendship has continued to grow over the years during their annual September trips to Yakima, so we couldn’t be more stoked to finally brew a Simcoe® fresh hop IPA together during harvest this year!”

These three fresh hop releases will be staggered throughout the month of September with releases at both their Yakima and Ballard taprooms, and each will receive wider distribution throughout Washington, Oregon, and Idaho following the taproom release. To find these beers outside the taprooms, check out Bale Breaker’s online beer finder. Washington customers can also order their beer via their online store after launch.

In addition to these three fresh hop beers brewed on their 30-barrel production brewhouse, Bale Breaker will also be brewing several draft-only fresh hop beers on their 5-barrel system in Yakima and 7-barrel system in Ballard, including collaborations with friends at Pinthouse Pizza in Austin, TX and Barley Brown’s in Baker City, OR. Look for these small-batch releases on tap at their Yakima and Seattle taprooms throughout September and October.

• Homegrown Fresh Hop IPA: 6.0% ABV—Here in Moxee, WA, September means harvest. In our 4^th season as barley farmers and 91 years after the first hops were planted on our family farm, we’re proud to share with you this Homegrown Fresh Hop IPA, featuring our homegrown hops and barley. Balanced and smooth with notes of grapefruit, apricot, berry, and resin from fresh Simcoe®, Simcoe® T90, Mosaic®, and HBC 630 hops. RELEASE DATE: WED 9/13
• Fresh Hop Frenz IPA with Russian River: 6.9% ABV—Our third Frenz Collaboration Series release of 2023 is a super-sized collaborative creation brewed with the world-renowned brewing wizards at Russian River Brewing Company, who we are lucky to call longtime mentors and friends. This fresh hop West Coast IPA releases captivating aromas of grapefruit, peach, mango, and resin, and features fresh Simcoe®, Citra® cryo, and HBC 586 hops. Made with our Frenz for you to drink with yours. RELEASE DATE: FRI 9/22
• Citra Slicker Wet Hop IPA: 6.2% ABV—This award-winning fresh hop collaboration beer is brewed every harvest with the big city brewers at Cloudburst Brewing and features fresh Citra® hops from Loftus Ranches. First brewed as an Elysian Brewing collaboration back in 2014 with Dick Cantwell, Elysian founder, and Steve Luke, then a brewer at Elysian, now owner of Cloudburst. Slight haze with hop dominant aromas of lemon, grapefruit, pineapple, pine resin, and dank. RELEASE DATE: FRI 9/29