Tag: hops

Since RahrBSG first shared the news with our customers in 2019, Triumph hops have been seen in more and more beers around the US and the world. But three years on, this public variety is still flying a bit under the radar. In this post, we’ll make sure you’re not missing out on the winning […]

After years of being “sessionized,” IPAs are going big again The importance of the IPA category to the craft beer market isn’t exactly breaking news, but the resurgence of Imperial IPAs amid low-ABV and health-conscious trends in brewing is noteworthy. According to industry sales data, Imperial IPAs are up almost 20% YTD for 2021 in […]

Before jumping into a discussion of lupulin-enriched hop pellet production, let’s start with a quick review of how “normal” hop pellets are produced.  The process of transforming hop cones to pellets begins when hop cones are hammer-milled into a powder. This sticky and aromatic powder is then blended to homogenize hops from multiple bales, cleaned to remove strigs, and then compressed into pellets using a pellet die.  Approximately 90% of the total hop cone weight is retained, so this sort of hop pellet is known as a Type 90 or T-90.  Most brewers usually skip the T-90 designation and refer to these as pelletized hops.

As summer fades and the Pumpkin Spice Latte once again holds residence in a coffee shop near you, farmers in Yakima Valley take to the hop fields. As harvest begins, the vivid and bold aromas float through air and fill every nose with fragrance. Scents like rich pine and strong citrus and potent dank wrap their way around the valley, marking the turn of the season and the budding excitement of a new crop of hops.

Every fall, RahrBSG Hops hosts Humulus U, a one-day hop symposium for professional brewers in Washington’s Yakima Valley. The event draws brewers of all sizes and features industry-leading speakers along with in-depth tours of our facilities as well as local farms.Circumstances being what they are in 2020, we brought Humulus U straight to viewers through digital means. Humulus U 2020 was be a four-day, online webinar-based symposium – in case you missed any sessions, or want to rewatch, we have you covered:

We thought it would be worthwhile to revisit some public hop varieties, their history, and perhaps suggest why they are surviving in the current culture. In this series, we will take a look at a few public cultivars and try to answer these questions.

HS-1228 is a hop blend from the RahrBSG Hop Solutions program, available exclusively from Brewers Supply Group. Its sensory profile is a mix of tropical fruit and classic West Coast hop character.

“This level of certification puts RahrBSG’s Wapato facility in very rare company in the hop industry,” says RahrBSG Quality Assurance Manager Brandon Pierce. “Only a select few hop merchants or processors are FSSC certified. This represents a lot of hard work from a large cross-functional team.”

It’s a new year, a new decade, and a great time to reevaluate some of your brewery SOPs. As craft brewers, many of us have adopted a brewing-inspired version of the ”day you stop learning…” mantra: “The day we stop improving, is the day we turn in our boots.” Inspired by that attitude, maybe it’s time to reconsider your dry hopping procedures, or at least take a hard, educated look at them.

RahrBSG Hops is an independent hop processor and merchant based out of Wapato in the Yakima Valley. Set in the heart of the US hop region, we source hops directly from our grower partners around the world. Freshly dried whole cones are received by our expert staff and immediately evaluated against our strict quality standards. Hop quality does not end in the field however, and this is where RahrBSG’s hop processing expertise shows through. 

NZH-107 is a proprietary experimental release developed jointly between New Zealand Hops, Ltd. and Brewers Supply Group. NZH-107 was created as part of the RahrBSG Hop Solutions program. 

Samba™ is the first proprietary release in the RahrBSG Hop Solutions portfolio, available exclusively from Brewers Supply Group. It is named for the “overwhelming tropical dance explosion” its aroma evokes.