Change in Brew Philosophy - Part3 - Heading Eastbound
In part1 of our series covering KBC2.0, we went over some of the reasoning that led to us blowing up half of our beer program in a bid to easily create a slew of mini-series beers that could enable us to experiment and easily convey the changes that are afoot at Kyoto Brewing (herein KBC)
In part2, we then went into explaining our growing love for NZ hops and how more and more of our beers will star to embrace them.
In this post, we’ll discuss our current trip out to the US (happening as I, Paul, type this) and why we thought it necessary to come out here.
Where it all began
Since KBC started cranking out our first beer, American hops have been a large contributing factor to the flavour and aroma of many of our beers. This is not only true for the American style beers we brew but also for a decent number of our beers featuring Belgian yeast (ex: our Mari-family series).
A lot of the American hops associated with the craft beer movement feature a bright citrus character, but that’s just the beginning. The range in character is very diverse and in addition to the citrus character, you can encounter intense pine-like, floral, woodsy, stone fruit and tropical aromas.
In the early years, when we were focused on simply surviving as a company, we worked with a smattering of vendors that were trying to import hops into the country. Some places were focused on trying to secure a wide range of hops from lots of different growers across many different regions. Other places were focused on working with a consortium that represented a group of farmers concentrated in a specific area.
During that time, what we quickly realised was that despite the hops carrying the same name (ex: Cascade), depending on where the hop grew (ex: Washington state vs Idaho state), the difference in character could vary greatly. There are a whole bunch of variables that go into influencing the taste and aroma of a hop (climate, soil, individual technique of the farm). However, with the limited amount of vendors importing hops, the easiest solution at the time was to simply cut down the number of places we worked with so that we had some basic control over getting hops that would be a little more consistent in taste and aroma.
Go somewhere new to recognise issues close to home
Fast forward to March 2024. I found myself on a farm in New Zealand and being shown 1 hop that was grown in 4 different areas on the same farm. 2 of the lots were somewhat similar in their profile. The remaining 2 were very different. More importantly, all 4 lots that I was sampling were much more impactful than the same stuff I was able to buy in Japan.
Now, if the lots I was sampling from the same farm showed such variance, if I started to compare hops from one farm to another, just how different could they be? Furthermore, if KBC wanted our more impactful beers (ex: pale ales, IPAs, etc) to exhibit certain sensory profiles (ex: more stonefruit than tropical notes), the need to select your own hops is very important.
This same epiphany was being experienced by the others in our group. While we all obviously bought New Zealand hops, we immediately set about planning an excursion out to the US during the next harvest season.
Off to Yakima
The hop growing region of Yakima is about a 2.5hr drive away Southeast from Seattle. As you drive away from the coastal city, you begin to enter a mountainous woodland covered in an abundance of fir trees.
As you continue your journey ever inward, mountains soon give way to a dessert-like landscape of rolling hills.
The days are long, rain is sparse and just as your eyes get used to the arid vegetation, in the distance you can see a bunch of irrigated green fields. A lot of these are apples. Some of these are also grapes. Eventually, you come across a smattering of large fields where hops are growing in abundance.
In the valley there are many farmers that are clustered and split across 3 different regions. A lot of them have been present in the valley, on average, for 4 generations. Together, Yakima farmers represent about 75% of all grown hops in the US. Globally, they produce just under 50%. Of their total production, about 2/3s of it is bound for countries around the world. In short, hops are an integral part of Yakima and Yakima an integral part of craft beer.
With this being our first time to the valley, we decided to visit an array of different farms/businesses:
- 3 family farms
- Farms that grow known varietals, experiment on creating new ones and either sell them to the consortiums and trade houses. Some of them are now starting to sell them directly to brewers
- 1 trade house
- A neutral business that works with almost all of the farmers in the valley and tries to supply hops to their ever-expanding list of customers (ie. brewers)
- 4 consortiums/unions
- Small to large-scale representatives that ask farmers to grow hops for them and handle all the logistical issues of getting those hops to the consumer
Across 4 days, we were able to sample 37 unique varieties of US hops and over 200 different lots. Truth be told, it was tiring. However, we learned so much.
Where does all this lead?
Between Feb to Mar of next year, the hops we selected will finally make their way to Japan.
For hops that we’ve used in the past, we’ve selected based on characteristics that were true to style but also just more vibrant and less grassy. For hops that we encountered for the first time, we chose based upon our desire to give our customers something other than 'tropical notes'
Nowadays, it seems like a lot of customers and breweries are chasing tropical characteristics. While we have selected a few varietals that play to that tune, we have also decided to embrace certain varietals that deliver on that nice citrus and pine character that you just can’t get elsewhere in the world. In other cases, we went for varietals that deliver a deep dank character that is very difficult to explain to a Japanese audience as it is not an aroma or taste that is easily experienced in Japan but one that we think many of you will like.
Regardless of a variety, we can’t wait to start making beers with this new crop year and getting them into your hands.
Stay tuned for more details.