Brewery Visits

SINGLE HILL BREWING – YAKIMA, WA

Yakima, which is considered the hop capital of the U.S., if not the world, is also home to Single Hill Brewing which was Hoppy’s next visit in his exploration of fresh hop ales. They opened their doors in June 2018 with a vision of Single Hill as a hub and supporter of three different communities: their Coworkers, the people that make up Single Hill; their Home, the Yakima Community; and their Profession; their fellow brewers and the suppliers that support them.

Single Hill was having a third round of a fresh hop competition, at the time, which they called a Fresh Hop Rodeo. It consisted of three fresh hop IPAs in which Single Hill collaborated with three different breweries using a base of fresh, wet, Hopsteiner Sultana and Haas HBC 1019. Hoppy drank a flight of these three beers along with five other fresh hop ales that were on draft. They were as follows:

California Tristan Fresh Hop IPA – Brewed with Highland Park Brewing out of Los Angeles. The Rodeo 3 base was elevated with a generous serving of dried Citra from Loza Farms, HBC 1019 from Haas, and Loftus Ranches Idaho7. 6.5% ABV, 45 IBU. (This was the winning beer of the third round of the Fresh Hop Rodeo.)

Social Piranha Fresh Hop IPA – Brewed with Obelisk Beer Co. from Astoria, OR. In addition to the Rodeo 3 base, it was dry hopped with Loza Farms Citra, Perrault586, Haas 1019 and Segal Ranch Anchovy hops. 6.5% ABV, 45 IBU.

Bridal Threat Fresh Hop IPA – Brewed with ISM Brewing, out of Long Beach, CA. ISM stacked the Rodeo 3 base with CLS Farms Chinook, Van Horn Farms Mosaic and 2023 Cascade Cryo. 6.5% ABV, 45 IBU

Green Harvester Fresh Hop IPA – Fresh, wet, Loftus Ranches and Tributary Hop Farms Mosaic with Fresh AF Pellets of Loftus HBC 630 and Idaho 7. Collaboration with Bale Breaker Brewing, Yakima. 6.3% ABV, 45 IBU.

Fresh Hop Lateral A Juicy IPA – Described as juicy, dreamy, fresh. An amped up version of Lateral A with fresh, wet Loftus Ranches HBC 586 and fresh AF pellets of Perrault Farms HBC 586 & Talus and Haas Yakima Golding HBC 1019. Collaboration with Zeeks Pizza, Seattle. 6.4% ABV, 60 IBU.

Energy Cone Fresh Hop IPA – Featuring fresh, wet Citra from Sauve and Son Farms & Loza Farms, Cashmere from Cornerstone Ranches; with Fresh AF Pellets of Cornerstone Cashmere, Loza Farms Citra, and CLS Farms Zappa. Collaboration with Bottleworks and Full Throttle Bottles in Seattle, and Bridge & Tunnel in Astoria, OR. 6.4% ABV, 40 IBU.

Cones of Hopshire Fresh Hop IPA – Featuring HBC 586 from Haas Yakima Golding Farms and Amarillo from Virgil Gamache Farms, this Fresh Hop IPA knows that it’s all about the cones. Collaboration with Urban Family Brewing, Seattle. 6.5% ABV, 50 IBU.

Fresh Hopped Charro Bebop IPA – Brewed with Wet Newhouse Simcoe, Haas Citra and Loza Rainier. Fresh AF pellets of Haas Citra, Loza Amarillo, CLS Zappa and Van Horn Cascade. International collaboration with Transpeninsular and Aguamala of Ensenada, Mexico and DevilCraft and Inkhorn Brewing of Tokyo, Japan. 6.5% ABV, 50 IBU.

Hoppy’s favorite was the Cones of Hopshire.

Pictures at Single Hill follow.

BALE BREAKER BREWING – YAKIMA, WA

‘Tis the season for colorful leaves, Oktoberfests, fresh hop ales and pumpkin beers! After attending Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, Hoppy tried unsuccessfully to obtain tickets to a sold-out Yakima Fresh Hop Festival. Instead of pining away, Hoppy went directly to the hop fields and Bale Breaker Brewing where they craft fresh-off-the-farm brews from their family’s fourth generation hop farm. They started brewing in 2013 and have since grown to become Washington State’s fourth largest independent craft brewery, with a 30-barrel brewhouse at a 27,000 square foot facility.

While there, Hoppy was able to drink a flight of six fresh hop ales. These were:

Rollin’ Cones Fresh Hop Cold IPA Pinthouse Collab – Brewed with Pinthouse Brewing from Austin, TX. It features fresh picked Citra hops paired with Simcoe, HBC 586, Mosaic and Superdelic hops which give this crisp IPA citrus, tropical and honeydew aromas. 6.8% ABV, 45 IBU.

The George & Brian Fresh Hop IPA – Described as brewed with flaked rice and lager yeast this Mosaic fresh hop IPA is light-bodied yet intensely aromatic with a smoot finish. Featuring fresh Mosaic, HBC 586 Cryo and Nectaron hops for pineapple, peach, spruce and resin aromatics. 6.6% ABV, 48 IBU.

Citra Slicker Fresh Hop IPA Cloudburst Collab – This is a Citra fresh hop collaboration with Cloudburst Brewing in Seattle. 6.2% ABV, 60 IBU.

Homegrown Fresh Hop IPA – Features Bale Breaker’s homegrown hops and barley. 6% ABV, 60 IBU.

Fresh Hop Frenz IPA Russian River Collab – This is a fresh hop West Coast IPA collaboration with Russian River Brewing from Santa Rosa and Windsor, California. It is described as releasing captivating aromas of grapefruit, peach, mango and resin and features freshly picked Simcoe, Citra cryo, and HBC 586 hops. 6.9% ABV, 65 IBU.

Piled High Fresh Hop IPA – Brewed in the middle of a hop field this might just be one of the freshest fresh hop beers around. It took just four minutes to get these wet Citra hops out of the picking machine at Loftus Ranches and into the brew kettle. 6.9% ABV, 75 IBU.

My fave that night was the Rollin’ Cones, however I have had the Fresh Hop Frenz again since, and I believe that to be one of my favorite beers ever!

Pictures from the Yakima taproom follow:

VOODOO BREWING – KNOXVILLE, TN

Hoppy’s next visit was at Voodoo Brewing in the Bearden area of Knoxville. It was a franchise taproom of the brewery that’s located in Meadville, PA and opened in 2005. The Knoxville location has recently closed.

While there, Hoppy quaffed a Voodoo Love Child Fruited Belgian Tripel Ale that is described as delicately aged on sour cherries, raspberries and passionfruit to produce moderately sweet fruit notes on top of traditional Belgian yeast character. It is 9.2% ABV.

Pictures follow:

CRAFTY BASTARD BREWERY – WEST – KNOXVILLE, TN

Hoppy’s travels next took him to the Crafty Bastard Brewery – West in Knoxville. This location in West Knoxville, their second, opened in 2021. The night that Hoppy was there was an away game for the Tennessee Vols, and it was packed with their fans. He did not have time for a beer, but he was happy to see his sticker in place on the cooler sticker door. His visit to the original Crafty Bastard Brewery can be found here.

Pictures of the visit follow:

MAKAI BREWING – OCEAN ISLE BEACH, NC

About ten miles north of the South Carolina border sits Makai Brewing, in Ocean Isle Beach, Hoppy’s next visit. It opened in 2017. Their taproom has a laid-back coastal vibe, and the name Makai is a Hawaiian directional term for “toward the sea” which emphasizes the owner’s love of Hawaii and the beach. It is next door to the Butcher of Brunswick where you can purchase delicious deli sandwiches to bring in the brewery.

Hoppy enjoyed the following beers during his stay:

Fire Knife Imperial IPA – Named for the Fire Knife Dance in Hawaii. Described as a bright, aromatic DIPA which gets its tropical fruity notes from copious amounts of Warrior, Mosaic, Citra, Centennial, and Amarillo hops. It is 8.7% ABV, 97 IBU.

Key Lime Gose – Sour, Traditional Gose – Described as a just a little tart, crushable summertime beer. 4.3% ABV, 11 IBU.

Pictures from the visit follow:

Makai is also one of the breweries participating in the Kokua Project, by brewing a beer to benefit those impacted by the Maui wildfires. There are now eight Indiana breweries participating in the project as 3 Floyds Brewing has joined the group of participants.

GRAND STRAND BREWING – MYRTLE BEACH, SC

Heading down the coast, Hoppy stopped at Grand Strand Brewing (GSB) in Myrtle Beach. It opened in 2021 in the heart of the city’s downtown Arts & Innovation District. They have 16 taps on rotation.

While there, Hoppy enjoyed a Sandy Cheeks West Coast IPA described as using modern hops and having a citrus aroma with a solid malt backbone. It clocks in at 6.9% ABV.

Pictures follow: