OnTap Magazine

FEATURE It was amazing to see the di erence in the aromas of each sample of Amarillo. is was a prime example of “terroir”, a term we more commonly associate with wine. e next day we were lucky enough to visit the experimental hop elds of the Hop Breeding Company, better known as HBC. HBC is located on a Haas family farm where they are constantly experimenting with new hops, cross breeding over 300 new varieties. We walked among the towering hop vines and picked o the occasional cone from some of the new test varieties, sni ng and looking out for something that captured our attention. Pretty soon our hands turned yellow- green from the hop oils mixed with the yellow lupulin powder, our heads spinning from all the di erent aromas. Our last stop was the chance to see the rst hop vines of both Mosaic and Citra, which were still in the breeding eld. What an honour to be able to see where these in uential American hops began. To toast the experience, we went back to the testing plant on site to sample some beers brewed with a few of their test varieties – the ones that are getting closer to market. I particularly enjoyed the aroma and avour of HBC 586 which had a strong fresh peach smell to it. e following morning, we visited the Haas warehousing and production plant. ey showed us one of the huge temperature- controlled warehouses that held the hop bales until they were due to be processed into pellets or CO2 extract. We were able to go into the plant, where they explained how they process the hops from bales of leaf hops to the T-90 pellets many of us are so familiar with using today. ey showed us the new process they developed to create the BBC pellet that contains less vegetable matter and increased hop oils per pellet for an even bigger hop aroma and avour. SELECTING THE BEST After the tour of the plant we were taken in to the conference room for selection. ey had set up samples from many di erent varieties. We were then asked to sni test the hops from all the di erent farms and all of us would vote on which farm’s hops boasted the best aroma. e winner would make it onto Simply Hops’ shopping list for the following year. We sat down to sni 10 di erent hop varieties, each with samples from seven or eight di erent farms. ey had a great stash of craft beer in the fridge to enjoy while we were sni ng and taking notes. I looked around and re ected on how I was the only representative for Africa, and I was helping to determine the hops that many of the craft brewers on our continent would be using to make all the great beer we enjoy all year. What a huge responsibility. e head of marketing gave us a presentation on the current state of the US and global hop markets, where we could see how the craft beer industry had shifted the focus of hops grown. Hop farmers used to specialise in high alpha acid hops, sought after by the big macro breweries to use for bittering, but today it’s all about the exciting new aroma varieties that the craft beer industry craves. He said that the whole valley has been injected with a new excitement over the rise of the craft beer scene and the amazing avours brewers were creating with their product. And just like that, the trip was over. As I prepared for my ight out of Seattle, I thought about how lucky I was to have this amazing experience. I met so many cool brewers from around the world and was able to pick their brains for tips on opening up my own craft brewery in Johannesburg (Naked Face Brewing). I can’t wait to use these amazing hops that I helped pick out in my beers this year. What an honour to be able to see where these influential American hops began Not everyone gets the opportunity to visit the hop farms of Yakima, but if you know who to talk to, it is possible to visit the South African hop fields. Harvest takes place in early March in the Outeniqua Valley and during this time, limited tours are available to see the hop fields and processing plants. Get in touch with your local homebrewing club to see if they are planning any trips, or diarise the idea and try and organise your own group tour for 2020. HOP SAFARI 28 | Autumn 2019 | ontapmag.co.za