Eight years ago on Friday, February 13, Hop Valley opened the doors to its brewery in Springfield, Oregon where it was equipped to brew 1,000 barrels of beer per year.
It’s now 2017 and the brewery couldn’t have predicted enjoying such stellar success in the craft beer world. As they celebrate eight years as “Everyone’s craft,” here are eight great Hop Valley memories from over the years:
2009: To the delight of parched and discerning craft beer drinkers in Lane County, Oregon, Hop Valley opens the doors to their Springfield Restaurant on Kruse Way on February 13. By the end of the year, Hop Valley produces about 1,000 barrels of hand-crafted beer, including a wide range of styles from lagers to IPAs.
2010: Hop Valley’s Blonde Ale wins a bronze medal in the World Beer Cup. Hosted by the Brewers Association and featuring thousands of beers from around the globe, the World Beer Cup is the Olympics for the beer world.
2011: Hop Valley’s Alpha Centauri hits store shelves in a bottle for the first time. In short order, this Imperial IPA becomes the second-best-selling 22oz craft package in Oregon. Hop Valley installs its first canning line by the end of the year, a manual Cask two-head filler.
2012: The packaging for Alphadelic, Blonde Ale, VIP, 541, Czech Your Head and Alpha Centauri all receive a makeover, initiating a new updated look across Hop Valley’s products and packaging. Blonde Ale once again wins a bronze medal in the World Beer Cup.
2013: Thanks to the popularity of Hop Valley beers, the company opens a larger production brewery in Eugene’s historic, eclectic Whiteaker neighborhood. The expanded production capacity gives Hop Valley the ability to expand to new markets beyond Oregon. Attached to the new brewery is Hop Valley’s Tasting Room. Featuring a mix of new (digital menus) and old (reclaimed wood from a local 19th century barn and historic photos), the Tasting Room quickly becomes a favorite local hangout.
2014: Citrus Mistress IPA meets with an enthusiastic reception upon release and soon ranks as one of Hop Valley’s most popular beers. It would go on to win a bronze medal along with Blonde Ale in the 2014 World Beer Cup. More craft beer enthusiasts have the good fortune to enjoy Hop Valley as regional distribution expands to include Washington state and Northern California.
2015: A new canning line allows Hop Valley to produce tallboy “pounders” for the first time. Soon after, Light Me Up Lager arrive in stores, the first of Hop Valley’s products to be available in 16oz cans.
2016: Accommodating more Hop Valley fans means the Tasting Room expands with additional seating in the Barrel Room. Citrus Mistress debuts in cans for the first time and Hop Valley introduces new offerings, including Macho Libre IPA and Neon Prince IPA, our first bottled session IPA. Hop Valley’s Hop to Hop fundraiser generates more than $30,000 for the American Cancer Society—the most yet for the annual event.
Present-day: 2017 starts strong with Hop Valley beers winning five medals in the Best of Craft Beer Awards, competing against more than 1,700 entries. Hop Valley continues to embrace new frontiers as distribution expands beyond Oregon, Washington, Idaho and California to include Arizona and Nevada. Additional creative beers are on the way. Or, like Solid Baby Multi-Grain IPA, have already arrived. What started with three founders and 1,000 barrels of beer in 2009 has grown to more than 75,000 barrels and over 150 employees in 2017.
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