Pacific Northwest Hop-growers Impress Earth Rider Brewers

Every year, Earth Rider brewers travel to the Pacific Northwest during hop harvest. Harvest begins in late August and concludes in early October. Again this year, Director of Brewing Frank Kaszuba traveled with Head Brewer Allyson Rolph with a primary objective to select hops for 2025’s brewing. Hop selection is primarily done for Earth Rider’s year-round flagship beers with a goal to select the best quality hops that have the aromatics desired in the finished beer. 

This year we selected Citra and Centennial with Yakima Chief Hops, Sultana and Eureka with Hopsteiner, and Columbus hops grown at Crosby Hop Farm. Characteristics of the hops are assessed visually and by rubbing them between our hands to heat and release aromatics present in oils of the hop’s lupulin glands. 

A secondary goal of the trip is to find new and exciting hop varieties to brew small batch taproom-only beers. We’re able to assess experimental varieties at our hop suppliers, as well as consider newer public varieties like those grown at Hollingbery and Son, Inc. 

It’s important and fun to sample the best local beers while traveling. A particular beer may provide inspiration to make something new or lend an idea of how to improve current offerings. This year’s first stop was Portland, Oregon before traveling south to the Willamette Valley. The Willamette Valley is home to world class Pinot Noir as well as singular hop varieties. Frank and Allyson also spent a night and enjoyed local brews in Bend, Oregon on their way to Washington’s Yakima Valley, where 75% of US hops are grown. A couple of the favorite breweries visited this year were Sunriver Brewing near Bend and Grand Fir Brewing in Portland.

Another fun opportunity arose at Hopsteiner where we were invited to collaborate with that supplier and Illinois’ Crystal Lake Brewing. We’ll brew a beer to be served during next year’s hop harvest that will feature a hop variety grown by Hopsteiner. The beer will also be available at Earth Rider’s taproom in Superior, WI.

The greatest parts of hop selection are enjoying great local beer, meeting our hop growers and brewery colleagues, learning about hops, and using those experiences to make evermore pleasing beer.

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