Volume 14, Issue 2/Winter 2015/16 Briess Carmel Rye Malt is smooth and subtle, yet suprisingly complex Style Matters: Tips for ‘Other Smoked Beers’ See “Style Matters,” page 5 In each issue, CBQ spotlights a particular beer style and provides tips from an ingredient and fermentation perspective. In this issue we examine the BJCP category of “Other Smoked Beers.” Malt Notes: This beer category offers opportunity for both creative and disciplined brewing. Creative because of the vast variety of beer styles that lend themselves to a smoky version. Disciplined because of the need Crop update for 2015 hops season See “Crop report,” page 7 White Labs construction update Stephen Carpenter, President and Chief Operating Officer, Yakima Chief - Hopnion LLC For the most part, the 2015 PNW hop crop is harvested and delivered. While faring better than our German counter- parts, the crop in the US had its ups and downs as a result of heat and water is- sues through most of the summer. Many of the early maturing varieties suffered the most as a result of the challenging growing conditions. The Willamette crop was off in both Washington and Oregon. For the most part, US Goldings, US Fuggles, US Saaz, and US Hallertau were adversely affected by the extreme heat during bloom. Cascades grew well in Oregon and in some parts of Washing- ton, but what appeared to be potentially record yields as harvest neared never ma- terialized. Centennials were a big disap- pointment in most areas. Despite the heat, Simcoe® and Citra® performed about as expected and Mosaic® yields exceeded expectations. Amarillo® yields met expectation in northern Idaho, but were disappointing in Washington state overall. There seemed to be more crop issues on land farmed within the Wapato Irrigation Dis- trict. Although there was a wide spectrum of alpha analyses and yields depending on the growing region, overall the alpha crop in the PNW was about average. The Nug- get crop in Oregon was exceptional for most growers. Overall quality of the 2015 crop was good to excellent. Weather was as pleas- ant during harvest as it was challenging during the growing season. Growers in irrigated areas are now anxiously await- ing weather reports as the snowpack this winter will be instrumental in assuring Briess Caramel Rye Malt leans toward burnt orange and brown color contributions. These pilot brews were formulated at 10% Caramel Rye Malt (left) and 20% Caramel Rye Malt (right). By Briess Malt & Ingredients Co. CHILTON, WI —Briess has announced the release of the newest malt in its portfolio — Briess Caramel Rye Malt. At 60º Lovibond, it is described as smooth and subtle, yet surprisingly complex, and can be used up to 20% in a wide range of beer styles for depth and subtle flavor. Briess officials said that a proprietary process in the drum roaster was developed for this malt. The process creates touches of caramel and bread crust flavors which complement the spicy characteristic of the rye grain. Subtle spicy rye flavor shines through the layers of caramel and bread crust flavors after fer- mentation, and it leans toward burnt orange and brown color contributions. This is a versatile malt. Some rec- ommended beginning usage rates include: • 1-5% for depth in lighter-flavor beers like Pil- sner, Oktoberfest and Bock. • 6-10% adds complexity to malt-forward beers. In this issue: Malt News: Pages 2-3 Yeast News: Pages 5-6 Hops News: Pages 6-7 • Up to 20% for intriguing softness and slight rye-like character. • Use in all beer styles for depth and subtle fla- vor. • Use with Briess Rye Malt or Briess Rye Flakes for more rye flavor, and to complement the smooth and subtle yet complex flavor. • Use in all rye-style beers for added sweetness, toast flavor and color as well as in Scottish Ales, Doppelbock, Dunkels, Stouts, Porters and other medium to dark ales and lagers. White Labs’ expansion project in Asheville, North Carolina is well under way with plans for construc- tion to be completed on the main facility by late spring/early sum- mer, with the full public opening later in the year. Although the rainy season, See “Construction,” page 4 to develop a pleasant balance between the expected characteristics of the base beer and the smokiness imparted by the smoked malts. According to BJCP style guidelines, the intensity and character of the smoke and base beer style can vary, but bal- ance is the key to success. And sharp, phenolic, harsh, rubbery or burnt smokiness is inappropriate.
Transcript
Volume 14, Issue 2/Winter 2015/16
Briess Carmel Rye Malt is smooth and subtle, yet suprisingly complex
Style Matters: Tips for ‘Other Smoked Beers’
See “Style Matters,” page 5
In each issue, CBQ spotlights aparticular beer style and provides tipsfrom an ingredient and fermentationperspective. In this issue we examinethe BJCP category of “Other SmokedBeers.”
Malt Notes:This beer category offers opportunity
for both creative and disciplined brewing.Creative because of the vast variety of beerstyles that lend themselves to a smokyversion. Disciplined because of the need
For the most part, the 2015 PNWhop crop is harvested and delivered. Whilefaring better than our German counter-parts, the crop in the US had its ups anddowns as a result of heat and water is-sues through most of the summer. Manyof the early maturing varieties sufferedthe most as a result of the challenginggrowing conditions. The Willamette cropwas off in both Washington and Oregon.For the most part, US Goldings, USFuggles, US Saaz, and US Hallertau were
adversely affected by the extreme heatduring bloom. Cascades grew well inOregon and in some parts of Washing-ton, but what appeared to be potentiallyrecord yields as harvest neared never ma-terialized. Centennials were a big disap-pointment in most areas.
Despite the heat, Simcoe® andCitra® performed about as expected andMosaic® yields exceeded expectations.Amarillo® yields met expectation innorthern Idaho, but were disappointingin Washington state overall. Thereseemed to be more crop issues on landfarmed within the Wapato Irrigation Dis-
trict.Although there was a wide spectrum
of alpha analyses and yields depending onthe growing region, overall the alpha cropin the PNW was about average. The Nug-get crop in Oregon was exceptional formost growers.
Overall quality of the 2015 crop wasgood to excellent. Weather was as pleas-ant during harvest as it was challengingduring the growing season. Growers inirrigated areas are now anxiously await-ing weather reports as the snowpack thiswinter will be instrumental in assuring
Briess Caramel Rye Malt leans toward burnt orangeand brown color contributions. These pilot brews wereformulated at 10% Caramel Rye Malt (left) and 20%Caramel Rye Malt (right).
By Briess Malt & Ingredients Co.CHILTON, WI —Briess has announced the release
of the newest malt in its portfolio — Briess CaramelRye Malt. At 60º Lovibond, it is described as smoothand subtle, yet surprisingly complex, and can be usedup to 20% in a wide range of beer styles for depth andsubtle flavor.
Briess officials said that a proprietary process in thedrum roaster was developed for this malt.
The process creates touches of caramel and breadcrust flavors which complement the spicy characteristicof the rye grain. Subtle spicy rye flavor shines throughthe layers of caramel and bread crust flavors after fer-mentation, and it leans toward burnt orange and browncolor contributions. This is a versatile malt. Some rec-ommended beginning usage rates include:
• 1-5% for depth in lighter-flavor beers like Pil-sner, Oktoberfest and Bock.
• 6-10% adds complexity to malt-forward beers.
In this issue:Malt News: Pages 2-3Yeast News: Pages 5-6Hops News: Pages 6-7
• Up to 20% for intriguing softness and slightrye-like character.
• Use in all beer styles for depth and subtle fla-vor.
• Use with Briess Rye Malt or Briess Rye Flakesfor more rye flavor, and to complement the smooth andsubtle yet complex flavor.
• Use in all rye-style beers for added sweetness,toast flavor and color as well as in Scottish Ales,Doppelbock, Dunkels, Stouts, Porters and other mediumto dark ales and lagers.
White Labs’ expansion projectin Asheville, North Carolina is wellunder way with plans for construc-tion to be completed on the mainfacility by late spring/early sum-mer, with the full public openinglater in the year.
Although the rainy season,
See “Construction,” page 4
to develop a pleasant balance between theexpected characteristics of the base beerand the smokiness imparted by thesmoked malts.
According to BJCP style guidelines,the intensity and character of the smoke
and base beer style can vary, but bal-ance is the key to success. And sharp,phenolic, harsh, rubbery or burntsmokiness is inappropriate.
Introducing the first Briess single-malt extractsCHILTON, WI —Briess has announced that it is
introducing two new CBW® malt extracts to its portfo-lio, each produced from a single malt:
• CBW® Goldpils Vienna malt extract (6º L at8º Plato)
• CBW® Pale Ale malt extract (6º L at 8º Plato)These single-malt extracts make converting from
extract to all grain, or vice versa, easier. And it givesthe creative brewer total liberty and control.
Two popular CBWº malt extracts — CBWº PilsenLight and CBW® Golden Light — are close behind thispair. But with 99% Briess Pilsen Malt and Briess Brew-ers Malt, respectively, and 1% Briess Carapils® Malt,these malt extracts can’t qualify for the “single malt”category.
Briess Goldpils® Vienna characteristicsThis traditional German-style malt is characterized
by malty flavor with hints of biscuit. When formulat-ing with either the extract or whole kernel malt, brew-ers should keep in mind that Goldpils® Vienna Malt isless sweet than Pale Ale Malt, and contributes less colorthan Munich Malt.
Briess Pale Ale characteristicsBriess Pale Ale Malt has a unique flavor profile that
sets it apart from other versions of this malt offered toAmerican craft brewers. Briess maltsters designed itto be a fully modified, high extract, low protein malt,not just a darker Brewers Malt. This required develop-ing a proprietary malting recipe that involves carefulmonitoring of the kiln drying cycle and specialized tem-perature rests. The result is a base malt with rich malt
flavors and hints of biscuit and nuts.CBW® stands for Concentrated Brewers Wort.
These brewer’s grade malt extracts are brewed on a 500-bbl state-of-the-art brewhouse, the second largest inWisconsin.
They are unhopped and nondiastatic to offer brew-ers creative control. Briess CBW® malt extracts are gentlyvacuum evaporated to maintain their rich, full flavor andlessen color development, and produced using a mul-tiple step infusion brewing process for highfermentability.
These new styles bring to 11 the number of CBW®
malt extracts offered by Briess:
- CBW® Pilsen Light (2º L)- CBW® Bavarian Wheat (3º L)- CBW® Golden Light (4º L)- CBW® Goldpils® Vienna (6º L)- CBW® Pale Ale (6º L)- CBW® Munich (8º L)- CBW® Rye (9º L)- CBW® Sparkling Amber (10º L)- CBW® Porter (17º L)- CBW® Traditional Dark (30º L)- CBW® Special Dark (90º L)
Homebrew shops and licensed breweries can pur-chase Briess products from an authorized distributor.Licensed breweries can also purchase Briess productsdirect. For more information visitwww.BrewingWithBriess.com or [email protected].
Two new single-malt extracts from Briess are offered in3.3 pound retail canisters, as well as 5-gallon pails andbulk.
gredients Co. announced that it has com-pleted two expansions this year that buildupon recent acquisitions.
The expansions include the installa-tion of another drum roaster at its Wa-terloo, WI, malting operation, and add-ing 1.5 million bushels of storage at itsbarley operation in Ralston, WY.
“Since the pioneer days of Americancraft beer, Briess has embraced the small-scale production of artisan beers and de-veloped unique malts and services to helpit grow,” said Company President Gor-don Lane. “Meeting the needs of craftbeer continues to be our focus.
“In the past several years we tookcomplete control of our barley supplychain in order to secure a consistent sup-ply of high quality barley for malting.Now, as craft beer continues to grow andits demand for malt increases, we will alsoexpand and grow to meet those needs.”
The new roaster will bring to seven
the total number of roasters operated byBriess—three at its Waterloo Malthouse,two at its Chilton Malthouse and two atits Insta Grains® Plant in Chilton. Briesshas been roasting malt for beer since the1950s, and was the first malting companyto offer roasted malt to American craft
brewers.In Wyoming, additional storage will
help accommodate increased barleyplantings for Briess.
“Our Ralston barley operation wasprocessing about 3 million bushels of bar-ley a year when Briess purchased it in
2013. This year we have contracted forabout 5.8 million bushels, and our goal isto continue seeking increased barley acre-age and new barley varieties,” Lane con-tinued.
Two new 750,000-bushel bins willincrease total barley storage at Ralstonto 3.8 million bushels. That’s in additionto 4 million bushels of storage it addedlast year when Briess acquired a majorgrain processing and handling operationin Manitowoc, WI.
This past January, one of s ixmalthouses on the Manitowoc propertywas recommissioned by Briess, more thandoubling the company’s malting capacity.
“The Briess family has believed in theAmerican craft beer movement since itsearliest days,” Lane continued. “Todaythey continue invest to help craft beercontinue to grow.”
Briess is North America’s leading sup-
See “Briess Expansion,” page 3
“The Briess family has believed in the Americancraft beer movement since its earliest days ... Todaythey continue invest to help craft beer continue togrow.”
From Page 2Briess Expansionplier of specialty malts to Ameri-can craft beer, and a leading pro-ducer of all natural malt, naturalsweetener and other value-addedgrain and starch-based ingredients
for food, beverage and pet foodmanufacturers.
It has been family owned since1876 and produces all ingredients inthe U.S.A.
Two of four 750,000-bushel bins were installedthis summer at the Briess Wyoming Barley Op-eration. The location also has 10 100,000-bushelbins and is situated along the Burlington-North-ern Railroad.
This colorfulinfographic illus-trates the colorand flavor contri-butions of spe-cialty malt to beer.
A high resolution, print quality pdf of the 8-1/2” x 11” illustration is available for download at www.BrewingWithBriess.com/Products.
Colorfulillustration
Page 4
Yeastbank Sponsored by Whi te Labs Inc .Craft Beer Quarterly
White Labs launches first phase of DNA testing
From Page 1Constructionwhich is under way, could slow construction, if everything goes as planned workers willinstall equipment in the two months after construction is completed, with yeast trialstaking place the following two months.
The existing building, which has been used in years past for a variety of enterprisesincluding as a tobacco warehouse and stable, is being completely renovated inside andout while maintaining its historic character, including the iconic brick walls where pos-sible.
The building had been used most recently by the water department for repairingtrucks and as storage for the school district.
A second new building is also being constructed on the site, with completion tar-geted for early summer. The combined buildings will span 34,000 square feet of space.
Thus far, much of the work has centered on underground activities, including re-moving the 100-year-old concrete floor.
The $10 million project will include a tasting room and restaurant.For inquires regarding the Asheville site including future jobs, construction projects,
White Labs is now conducting in-house genetic identification using poly-merase chain reaction, or PCR, whichallows scientists to definitively determinethe genus and species* of the microor-ganism you are dealing with.
White Labs scientists amplify specificregions of highly variable ribosomalDNA that are flanked by conserved re-gions and then sequence these amplicons.By examining the "signatures" given bythe microorganism White Labs can de-termine the relatedness to a genus andspecies.
Customers can send in an organismthat they have isolated at their own mi-cro lab, or White Labs can plate thesamples (for an additional cost). The pro-cess turnaround time is 3 working days.
The price is $139/organism and thepart number is LS6705.
Brewers will find that DNA testing
of their yeast can pro-vide them with manybenefits, includingdetermining con-tamination and mu-tations , when thetests are conductedconsistently.
PCR fingerprint-ing can identify anddifferentiate produc-tion yeast strains.This is a valuable toolfor checking yeastslopes, detectingcross contamination,monitoring produc-
tion yeast cultures and in some instancesto detect mutations.
White Labs will implement additionaltesting options over the next few months.White Labs is in the process of rollingout a new analytical service that will uti-lize qPCR to detect specific beer-spoil-age organisms.
* Occasionally cannot determine spe-cies.
BigProject
The build-ing for WhiteL a b sAsheville hasin year’s pastbeen used toboard policehorses , andother func-tions, and re-quires a com-plete retrofit.
The price is $139/or-ganism and the part num-ber is LS6705
Next Big QC Day deadline is Feb. 26
Page 5
Yeastbank Sponsored by Whi te Labs Inc .Craft Beer Quarterly
Craft Beer QuarterlyThe purpose of CBQ is to provideinformation and tips about brewingfrom an ingredient perspective —malt, hops and yeast. CBQ is sent eachquarter to thousands of professionalbrewers. CBQ is sponsored by BriessMalt, Hopunion LLC and White LabsInc.
A look back at 2015: Thanks to employees, clientsI am writing this as 2015 is coming to a close, and
we have a lot to celebrate and appreciate from a verybusy year.
Here are some highlights:• Like much of the industry, we grew substantially
in 2015. To accommodate this growth, we added a thirdbuilding to our San Diego headquarters. An added ben-efit was a larger break room/cafeteria for our employ-ees. Building 3's packaging department is a key featureof our newly reinvigorated daily tours.
• We have progressed well with the new FlexCellpropagation process and PurePitch packaging. If you arenot familiar with this transition, it involves growing theyeast and shipping the yeast in the same container, re-ducing the need to transfer yeast, which is the stage ofyeast production that offers some of the greatest chancesof contamination. In 2015, we committed to shippingmost yeast in the PurePitch propagation vessels/pack-ages. By the end of the year, the same was true with ourhomebrew packages. Our surveys have showed mostloved the transition, although for those who did not, weintroduced many changes to our process and packagesthemselves to make them better. We will continue towork on improvements.
Too little, too much or harshsmokiness will be a deal-killer. To helpavoid those pitfalls, Briess offers twosmoked malt styles, neither of which haveharsh, phenolic or burnt smoke flavors— Cherry Wood Smoked Malt and Mes-quite Smoked Malt.
Styles and UsageSo where’s a good place to start when
using smoked malt? Try a favorite lightale or lager style such as cream ale orkolsch. A standard American or Germanlager will work as well. Use between 10%and 20% Smoked Malt in your grain bill.If it’s a recipe you’ve brewed before, justsubstitute out an equal amount of BaseMalt.
These lighter styles are a great show-case for smoked malt. Each smoked maltwill offer something different, and yourunderstanding of what it will bring to abeer is important. Once you’ve noted theprofile, begin to experiment. What is toomuch or too little is often personal, assmoke can be a polarizing flavor.
Another good introduction tosmoked beers is to keep your grist rightaround 10%, and add to your favorite fallstyle – Brown, Oktoberfest, MunichDunkel, Porter, or Stout. A darker,maltier beer is a great canvas for asmoked malt to co-mingle with other ro-bust malt flavors.
PairingsThere’s a wide variety of smoked
foods out there. Smoked beer can go
From Page 1Style Mattersbeyond the obvious pairing of barbeque,or other smoked foods like salmon orcheese. A smoked lager is a perfect com-pliment to heavy and rich food. Since theflavor is quite strong, look for strong, richand heavy foods – cream based pastas,duck, and thick cuts of steak. If you’vebrewed a smoked porter or stout, thinkdessert, and try it with dark chocolate ora big slice of cheesecake.
Cherry Wood Smoked Malt• DP 140• Color 5º LThis is a unique, enzyme-active spe-
cialty malt with a blend of pronouncedsmoke and subtle fruity flavor. It has amalty sweetness and is surprisinglysmooth and clean. Use it at these recom-mended beginning usage rates to developsubtle background flavor, complexity orrich, robust smoky flavor in a variety ofbeer styles:
• 10% Noticeable smoke charac-ter in lighter styles such as Scottish Alesand Oktoberfests
• 10-20% Pronounced smokecharacter in lighter styles like ScottishAles and Oktoberfests
• 30-60% Noticeable to pro-nounced smoke character in darker styleslike Stouts and Porters
upfront earthy albeit mellow mesquiteflavor without the harshness that mesquitecan deliver. This toned down flavor isachieved through a blend of mesquite andother hardwoods in the smoking process.It has some sweetness, but is less sweetthan Briess Cherry Wood Smoked Malt,and is surprisingly smooth.
Use in a variety of beer styles to de-velop complexity or rich, robust smokyflavor:
• 5-10% Noticeable smoke char-acter in lighter styles such as Scottish Alesand Oktoberfests
• 10-20% Pronounced smokecharacter in lighter styles like ScottishAles and Oktoberfests
• 30-60% Noticeable to pro-nounced smoke character in darker styleslike Stouts and Porters
– By Aaron Hyde, BriessHomebrew Product Manager
Yeast Notes:White Labs Brewmaster Joe
Kurowski has brewed these beers for thecompany’s on-site Tasting Room, and hesays brewers should not be afraid of us-ing Saison yeast because the phenolics canadd character to the smoked malt.
(White Labs Saison strains includeWLP565, WLP566 and a blend,WLP568; more details at whitelabs.com/yeast).
He suggests not using saisons that are“over the top” with fruity esters. Addi-
• We opened a Hong Kong warehouse to bettersupply the region with fresh, affordable liquid yeast.While we have done a lot of business over the years inthis section of the world, having cold storage in HongKong of our most popular strains have made them avail-able faster and with cheaper shipping. The opening hasgenerated interest and enthusiasm from throughout theregion, and this outreach will continue and improve in2016.
• We received government approval for opening atasting room within our office in Boulder, CO. Moredetails about this will come in the early part of the year,but for now I can tell you that it will certainly make the
beer experience more interesting for our customers andclients in the area. Like San Diego, the tasting roomwill feature beers split into multiple sub-batches, eachfermented with a separate yeast strain. The beer will bemade in San Diego.
• Construction began on our Asheville site in 2015,and the full story starts on the front of this newsletter.This has been a huge challenge for us, but streamliningmanufacturing with our FlexCell process, and provingit can work in multiple, smaller remote locations (Davisand Copenhagen) makes us extremely optimistic aboutthe future of this facility..
• Lots of these positive changes are tied to havingthe greatest staff in the business, and I want to take asecond to thank them here for all of their hard work in2015. All the more so because growth is not always easy.I also want to thank our customers for enjoying thisyear with us, and I hope you will continue to enjoy yourexperience with us.
Chris White is President of White Labs Inc. He hasa Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Califor-nia , San Diego. Feel free to wr ite him [email protected] about this column.
tionally, for other strains, he suggeststhose that “go pretty dry” such asWLP001, WLP007, and WLP051.
— Mike White, White Labs Inc.
Page 6
Hop Pages Sponsored by YCH HopsCraft Beer Quarterly
Special report: Acreage report for the year 2015See related report “Cropreport” on Page 1, and
continued below
Stephen Carpenter, Presidentand Chief Operating OfficerYakima Chief - Hopnion(YCH HOPS)
In the world of hops, a lot has hap-pened over the past several years. As re-cent as seven years ago, could anyone haveimagined that by 2015 aroma acreage inthe United States would surpass alphaacreage or that Willamette, the mostpopular aroma variety at the time, wouldno longer be considered in the top 5?How about the fact that varieties withstrange names such as Simcoe® YCR 14cv., Citra® YCR 394 cv, and Mosaic™HBC 369 cv, would not only be releasedfor the first time, but would become sopopular that they require five times theacreage of Willamette?
USDA National Agriculture StatisticsService reports that 2015 hop acreage isup 16% in the Pacific Northwest alone,representing 5,796 new acres acrossWashington, Oregon and Idaho.
In addition, this year marks the sixthyear in a row that aroma hop acreage hasincreased and the seventh consecutiveyear that alpha acreage has decreased inthe United States. This trend resulted inaroma acreage outpacing alpha acreagefor the first time in 2013 and continuesthrough 2015 with no sign of changing
in the nearfuture.
As a fur-ther sign ofhop growers’willingnessto invest andq u i c k l yadapt to brewers’ needs, there are nowmore than 1,250 acres of hops grown out-side of the Pacific Northwest. This is anincrease of 41% from last year. Local hopfarms can now be found in an estimated19 states, including California, Colorado,Michigan, New York, and Wisconsin.Many of these states had thriving hopcultures at various points in their historyand we anticipate capital for infrastruc-ture will continue to flow into new op-erations as demand dictates.
While the overall view of hop acre-age increases is interesting, it is worthtaking a look at the specific varieties be-hind some of these changes. Since 2010,we have seen a three-fold increase in Cas-cade hops, resulting in this popular vari-ety now being the most planted in theUnited States. Centennial acreage hasalso increased 10 times over the same pe-riod. Despite this amazing growth, thefastes t growing trend belongs toSimcoe®, Citra®, and Mosaic® hops
which werev i r t u a l l ynon-existentas commer-cial varietiesin 2008, butnow repre-sent nearly
20% of total US acreage.To make room for the plantings of
aroma hops in demand from the craft seg-
ety in 2008 at over 7,000 acres is downto just 1,400 acres.
Knowing all of this, we have to ask,“Will these trends continue?” In the shortterm, the answer is probably yes, as craftbeer producers target 20% market shareby 2020. Long term, the crystal ball is alittle hazier.
Will the craft segment embrace moreefficient hopping regimes? How will thebig international lager producers satisfy
ment, otherhop varietieshave seens ignif icantdecreases ina c r e a g eover thesame 7 yeartime span.CTZ (Co-l u m b u s /Tomahawk/Zeus) isdown morethan 7,500acres, and today, acreage in this key al-pha variety is just over 5,000 acres. Nug-get acreage is down to half of what is wasover the same time period and Galenaacreage is less than 10% of 2008 acre-age. Willamette, the leading aroma vari-
their alpha needs if current acreage trendscontinue? Are there new hop varieties onthe horizon which will change the dynam-ics?
Stay tuned. We wish you nothing buthoppiness as we face the future together.
Zach TurnerQuality and Sustainability Manager
There are many elements which go into connectingfamily-owned farms with the world’s finest brewers.With a relatively small number of hop farms concen-trated in the Pacific Northwest and an ever-growing baseof brewers across the world who are insatiably curious,and driven by quality, we’ve had to continually designand refine systems to manage different aspects of oursupply chain. To begin the process of laying out how wemanage quality and sustainability across our business,I’d like to provide an overview of how YCH HOPS hasexpanded programs from both Yakima Chief andHopunion. We have integrated key programs and builta strong foundation for working with brewers to pro-vide valuable information to and from farmers, whichwe hope will drive change and advance the industry.
Below we have laid out our business cycle across adiagram of how a hop makes it from a grower’s mindto a brewer’s glass. We employ different programs forfarming, harvest and YCH’s core business. Our pro-grams were not developed by us in a vacuum but weredesigned collaboratively over time with our partners, ineither brewing or farming, and have taken on namesand purposes which held value for their creators. I won’t
Delivering quality: The YCH HOPS approach
go into great depth on each here but in the future wewill be publishing more information to further commu-nicate our tools, reveal how we use these programs anddemonstrate their progress.
Select Botanicals Group, LLCYCH works closely with Select Botanicals Group,
LLC (SBG), the breeding and field management groupbehind Simcoe® that also co-owns the HBC hop variet-ies. Beyond just breeding, SBG manages the produc-tion of Simcoe®, Mosaic®, Citra® and Equinox® hopsfor YCH to ensure reliable availability of high quality
hops.Their Certified Select™ program covers root stock
management for purity including annual rogueing ofevery field for males and off-types, specific guidelinesfor training, harvest windows and kilning, and provid-ing year-round crop management and grower support.
*Simcoe® YCR 14 cv., Citra® YCR 394 cv., MosaicHBC 369 cv., Citra® YCR 394 cv., and Equinox™ HBC366 cv. are registered trademarks of Select BotanicalsGroup, LLC (Brand YCR) and/or Hop Breeding Com-pany LLC (Brand HBC).
Page 7
Hop Pages Sponsored by YCH HopsCraft Beer Quarterly
GreenChiefTM: Yakima Chief - Hopunion’s farmquality and sustainability program explained
Alpha King ChallengeFrom Page 1
Crop Report
adequate irrigation water for the 2016crop growing season.
*Simcoe® YCR 14 cv., Citra® YCR394 cv., and Mosaic HBC 369 cv. are reg-istered trademarks of Select BotanicalsGroup, LLC (Brand YCR) and/or HopBreeding Company LLC (Brand HBC).
The GreenChief™ program origi-nated at Yakima Chief, Inc. when grow-ers saw the need to address quality andsustainability at the farm to remain sus-tainable for the long haul. The YakimaChief grower-owners developed theirown best practices team, sustainable prac-tices survey, cost survey and harvest foodpractice guidelines. These pioneering hopgrowers knew that to remain competi-tive (this was before the craft boom), theyhad to compete together on quality andsustainable practices (in regards to cost,environment and society).
Now 15 years in the making, the pro-gram has recently become more focusedon quality and harvest best practices asthe original Yakima Chief growers havebeen joined by over 25 other growers inthe YCH HOPS community. We’re cur-rently striving to foster strong baselinesfor hop quality and harvest practices. In2015, our recurring best practices meet-ings have brought together farmers fromOregon, Washington and Idaho to discussbest harvest practices, brewer feedback,powdery mildew management, dry hop-ping and hop backs at Bale Breaker Brew-ing Co. and more.
We hope to not only promote anddevelop strong practices for traceability,harvest facilities, farm sustainability,
grower feedback and reporting, but toalso promote collaboration betweenfarms, suppliers and brewers. There is alot to the program these days which we’lldive into in another post.
Hop Selection – YCH’s Grower-Brewer Feedback System
At YCH, we view hop selection as aninterdepartmental quality program whichcontributes to fulfilling brewer prefer-ences for particular flavor profiles andhelps provide essential quality data to ourGreenChief™ farm quality program.While selection originated as a way forbrewers to evaluate the current crop andchoose hops for their specific needs, it hasevolved into the premier way we com-municate brewer feedback to farms. It isaimed at improving hop quality andbrewer communication systems throughthe use of harvest data, transparent com-munication and candid feedback. By par-ticipating in selection, a brewer’s qualita-tive commentary will be used to allocatehops to contracts and help specify consis-tent blends for the entire brewing com-munity. Ultimately, all lot specific feed-back and any corresponding lab data willbe provided directly to the farms so cor-relations can be made between sensory,analytics, and best farming practices.
ISO 9001 and 14001 SystemsWe run our business according to in-
ternationally recognized principals of con-tinuous improvement under which wehave developed a quality and environmen-tal management system certified to theISO® 9001 quality management systemand ISO® 14001 environmental manage-ment standards. These specify, control andprovide for continuous improvement ofthe way we work throughout our busi-ness. The system uses GreenChief™ andHop Selection as conduits for feedbackacross the value cycle to ensure we areproviding value to all of our business part-ners. Yakima Chief was an early adopterof ISO® 9001 in 1998 and the first hopcompany to implement an ISO® 14001certified environmental management sys-tem in 2010. We have been hard at workat our Yakima facility (former lyHopunion) to deploy the same ISO®9001 system this harvest and will be cer-tified later this fall. ISO® 14001 certifi-cation will follow in the next year or so.
Lean ManufacturingWhile our quality systems provide
structure, principals of Lean manufactur-ing provide tools to enable our employ-ees on the front lines of service and pro-duction to affect change, reduce waste
and improve quality of work, service andproduct. In 2015, as part of bringing thecultures of Yakima Chief and Hopuniontogether and to address challenges wehave faced in inventory control and cus-tomer service, we provided more than4000 hours of Lean training to employ-ees. This included a one-day class for allstaff members and focused, week-longKaizen events to tackle specific processimprovement opportunities and buildskills within departments to help Leantake root within YCH.
Quality ThroughoutWe’ve adopted these many systems
into the way we manage YCH HOPS tohelp us grow well. The growth of thecraft brewing industry has put our com-pany in the right place at the right timeand we’ve seen tremendous change in avery short amount of time. As we growand build, our aim is to instill a culture ofquality into the fabric of YCH HOPSwhich, while we’ll stumble from time totime, will lead us continuously to creat-ing better ways of working. Whetheryou’re a brewer, a farmer or a coworker,our commitment is to continue the dia-logue of how we work and together en-sure communities everywhere a steadysupply of delicious hoppy beer.
Überbrew, a small 10-barrelmicrobrewery out of Billings, Montanabrewing a broad range of bold, innova-tive beers, won first place during the 17thannual Alpha King Challenge at RockBottom Brewery in downtown Denver.Überbrew took the crown with their Al-pha Force Double Tap Tactical India PaleAle defeating 115 entries from 74 hop-forward breweries. This trailblazing brewwas the first black IPA to ever finish inthe Challenge’s top three and was createdby Head Brewer, Mark Hastings alongwith Connor Cranston and Matt Eisele.
Alpha Force Double Tap Tactical IPA,not to be confused with the other beersin the Alpha Force series, is a dark brownto black, hop-heavy beer with 8.5% ABVand over 100 IBUs.
It is one of three black IPAs thatÜberbrew has created, including BlackHops Tactical IPA and Black Hops 2. As
the creator of these popular beers,Hastings is no stranger to the techniquesof brewing a solid dark IPA. He and histeam chose seven hop additions in themash, kettle, dry hop and bright tank,including Warrior, Citra® and Simcoe®varieties.
Placing second and third in the com-petition were Melvin Brewing Companyof Jackson, WY with 2 x 4 Double IPAand Belching Beaver Brewing Companyof Vista, CA with Pound Town Triple IPA.Both breweries are former Alpha King
Champions earning the crown in 2012-2013 and 2014, respectively.
Other breweries in the top 15 include:Cellarmaker Brewing, Sun King Brew-ing, Pizza Port—Carlsbad, BarleyBrown’s Beer, Altitude Chophouse &Brewery, Cannonball Creek Brewery,Sunriver Brewing, Canteen Brewing, Sec-
ond Street Brewery and Pinthouse Pizza.Registration for the 2016 Alpha King
Challenge begins September 5th and isopen to commercially licensed breweriesthroughout the United States.
— Cait KertonDigital Media
Cold Creek Publishing Co.28600 Anchorage LaneHayward CA 94545
Attention brewer
The Back PageCraft Beer Quarterly
CRAFT BEER QUARTERLY isbrought to you by:
White Labs classes for 2016
Farm perspectives: A 50th harvest celebrationCait KertonDigital Media
Over the past 100+ years, the PacificNorthwest has become entwined withfamilies dedicated to growing and pro-ducing quality hops. From growers andfield workers, to operations and analyti-cal lab crews, the hop community hereruns generations deep. At YCH HOPS,we are fortunate to work and connect withmany people who have built their livesaround hops and are engrained in the in-dustry. They provide a personalized andunique perspective on the history of hops,and tell a story about the value of agri-cultural living like many people havenever heard before.
Joe John Torres is one of these people.As an employee of Carpenter Ranches inGranger, WA, Joe is a seasoned hop vet-eran in the area. This year, he celebratedhis 50th hop harvest at 70 years old andis the longest-running employee on thefarm.
Torres began working at 20 years oldin 1965 when Craig and Brad Carpenter,
now owners ofC a r p e n t e rRanches, were justat the ages of threeand one, respec-tively. Since then,Joe has workedalongside fourgenerations of theCarpenter family and has been joined onthe farm by three generations of his ownfamily, including his wife. Torres’ kids andgrandkids have also grown up on theranch, attending school and playing sportswith kids in the Carpenter family. He hasbecome such a part of the family thatCraig still calls him “tio,” meaning unclein Spanish.
During his 50-year tenure in the in-dustry, Torres has been involved in justabout every aspect of the hop growingprocess. On top of running the pickingmachine for 33 years, he’s worked in twin-ing, and is considered an expert at install-ing trellis and new hop yards. The Car-penters estimate that 90-100% of the
trellis currently in-stalled on the ranchhave been builtand/or overseen byTorres, which hesays is his favoritetype of work. In ad-dition, he enjoysthe fast-paced, ex-
citing work involved in the harvest sea-son.
Now, after half a century of experi-ence, he oversees roughly 50-60 peoplethrough the hop growing season, includ-ing the picking machine crew and kilncrew. A major aspect of his job duringharvest is monitoring the flow of hops toensure that varieties do not intermix andbrewers are being delivered the correctproduct.
Torres’ dedication to his work at Car-penter Ranches is demonstrated throughhis attendance. In 50 years, Joe has onlymissed two days of work, despite longhours starting at 3:30am and workingwell passed 5pm. Four years ago, Torres
attempted to retire from the industry, onlyto come back just a few weeks later.When asked why he felt the need to re-turn, he simply said he couldn’t stay athome and that he works to give Craig abreak. With a short laugh and a smile, headded that there were “too many honeyto-do lists at home.” According to Craig,he doesn’t need to be told what to do atthe ranch. He knows what needs to bedone to ensure that everything runssmoothly and is committed to makingthat happen.
Through the years, Torres has wit-nessed dramatic changes in the industry,involving technology, efficiencies and tech-nique. He’s gone from working with theoriginal Regimbal hop deviner when hestarted working on the ranch, to theDauenhauer around 1968, to theCarpenter’s own custom deviner.
Joe’s historical perspective, wealth ofknowledge and appreciation for the craftof growing hops makes him an invalu-able employee and family member at Car-penter Ranches.
Selected classes for 2016, more de-tails at whitelabs.com/education:
Yeas t Essentia lsFebruary 26, 2016, Boulder COFermentation for DistillersApril 2016, San Diego, dates and
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