Yakima Chief Hops (YCH) is thrilled to announce an exclusive partnership with RipeLocker, an AgTech company specializing in extending the life of perishable goods through scientific innovation. This key alliance will enable YCH to deliver freshly picked hops to brewers, regardless of their proximity to hop fields.
Once hops are picked from the bine, they start to decompose immediately. To preserve their quality, they undergo a kilning process on the farm, extending their longevity for years. Harvest season is the exclusive time when brewers can get fresh off the bine hops. Brewers need direct access to a hop farm to collect the hops straight off the conveyor before they are kilned and rush them directly to the brewery for expedited use to capture the bright and juicy flavors enjoyed in Fresh Hop or Wet Hop beers.
RipeLocker® presents a solution to this challenging timeline with mini hypobaric chambers that precisely control atmosphere and pressure, preserving the delicate hops cones in their freshest state. Each chamber can be customized to meet the specific needs of its contents and can hold 150-200 pounds of fresh hops, keeping them fresh for up to 60 days.
George Lobisser, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of RipeLocker® is enthusiastic about the partnership.
“We have developed groundbreaking technology that creates unprecedented opportunities for holding perishables. We believe YCH is the perfect partner to take advantage of the new opportunities, providing fresh hops to the beer industry,” he says. With timing and logistics being key to brewing a fresh hop beer, YCH looks forward to being able to offer this opportunity to more brewers, with more flexibility.
Brenton Roy, the fourth generation owner of Oasis Hop Farms and one of YCH’s grower-owners, was first introduced to RipeLocker® to transport blueberries, another crop his farm produces. After a few successful trials selling fresh hops directly to Texas and Colorado brewers, Roy brought RipeLocker® and YCH together to increase fresh hop distribution for the brewing community.
“Hop harvest can be a chaotic time, and once a hop is picked it deteriorates with every passing minute,” he explains. “What RipeLocker® brings to the table is flexibility, scheduling, and order to an otherwise hectic period, allowing brewers to use farm fresh hops on a schedule that suits them.”
This partnership will open new opportunities for brewers to experiment with fresh hops, something Bryan Pierce, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at YCH, looks forward to facilitating.
“Brewers can get a pallet of fresh Simcoe® hops then wait until their Mosaic® is harvested, without worrying about transit time and storage.
”Our growers work very hard to raise hops of the uppermost standards, and those hops must be harvested and transferred with the highest integrity. “We are constantly pushing for innovation, especially in the realm of quality, and have been thrilled with the feedback from brewers on what this delivers. Fresh hops are traveling thousands of miles over several days and retaining their fresh-off-the-bine characteristics,” he adds.
To kick off this new partnership, YCH has scheduled two cross-country routes to serve brewing communities otherwise disconnected from access to fresh hops from the Pacific Northwest. The Southwestern route will make stops to service breweries like Highland Park in Los Angeles, California, Coronado in San Diego, California, Wren House in Phoenix, Arizona, and Pinthouse in Austin, Texas. The Eastern route will deliver fresh lupulin love to Burial in Asheville, North Carolina, Bearded Iris in Nashville, Tennessee, and The Veil Brewing Company, in Richmond, Virginia.
Pricing is uniform across all varieties, ensuring simplicity for our customers. To learn more about future fresh hop shipping availability through RipeLocker®, please reach out to [email protected].
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