Yakima Chief's technical support team is second to none - we provide exceptional technical support through our worldwide network of offices staffed with experienced brewing professionals, as well as Yakima Chief's headquarters technical staff. Our support people live where they work and they know the brewing industry, as well as the specific needs in their area. Your technical support team is the most highly trained in the industry and will work closely with you, in your brewery if need be, to find the answers to your hopping challenges. We are committed to "raising the bar" in service, and in helping you set new standards of consistency and quality for your brew.

YCI Laboratory Operations
As buyers of our products, it is important for you to know that you are obtaining full value for your hop dollar. You need predictable, consistent bittering performance from your hops. From our perspective, this means that you also need to know the steps we take at YCI to assure both the accuracy and precision of our testing methods.

Method Traceability

All methods can be traced to established procedures of the American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC) and/or the European Brewing Convention (EBC). In most cases, our procedures are in strict compliance with the methods as written.

Whenever necessary, we have added other process controls that assure early detection of analytical reagent contamination, operator errors, and/or failures in equipment function.

Process Controls - UV Spectrophotometric Analysis
This ASBC method for alpha-acid is preferred for raw hops and pellets. The results are highly correlated with HPLC (ICE-2) analysis data, although the resulting numbers may be approximately 8% higher (on a relative basis.) If not monitored carefully, the method can provide erroneous data from a number of root causes.

We control all sources of error (extraction volumes, chemical purity and spectrophotometer stability) with a series of "go/no-go" steps in the operational checklist. Failure of any process step criterial (a "no-go" decision) requires supervisory intervention to eliminate the source of the error condition. Analysis cannot be done until the problem is resolved.

Process Controls - HPLC Analysis
This jointly approved method (EBC/ASBC) is dependent not only upon the usual sources of error (operator, analytical reagents and equipment) but also upon the stability and appropriate handling of a calibration extract standard. The current approved version of this standard is International Calibration Extract - 2 or "ICE-2". (ISO 9002 ref.S.O.P.10.07)

Problems with stability in the earlier versions of the standard have caused us to institute process control measures on analysis of the standard itself. Since September 1998, we have charted daily the performance of our commercial standard. (ISO 9002 ref.Q.P.4.20)

The daily charting tracks five values: homogeneity of the individual ICE-2 aliquots in stock and the absolute value of the Response Factor for each alpha-acid and beta-acid homologue peak. This precaution indicates to us when the standard is degraded and no longer accurate. It also immediately detects an atypical aliquot of ICE-2 standard. Either error condition is quickly remedied before sample testing and issuance of analytical results to the customer. (ISO 9002 ref.Q.P.4.20)

If your order requires HPLC analysis, the process control charts governing your issued Certificate(s) of Analysis are provided in the pages following.

Collaborative Testing Validation (ISO 9001 ref.Q.P.4.20 & S.O.P. 11.01)
The precautions we use in analyzing every product sold are only relevant if they obtain the desired results - accuracy and precision in alpha-acid analysis. That is why we enclose the most recent graphs of YCI collaborative testing. There is a graph for each of the UV Spectro collaborations as well as one for HPLC analyses. Source data is available upon request.

Each graph plots our analytical result against the mean result for the entire collaborative. An equation of correlation is provided as well as the "R-squared" value.

The equation of correlation should demonstrate a coefficient (slope) of 1 and an intercept (constant) of 0. Achieving these criteria is a measure of how well YCI data describes the average of all collaborators' results.

The "R-squared" figure indicates the level of systematic agreement between YCI data and the collaborative average. For example, an R-square value of 0.99 indicates only a 1% discrepancy in the way that the two data sets vary.

Standard Operating Procedures
To obtain the most efficient and accurate usage of the standard methods, YCI has put together Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and trained analysts in their use. These retain the desired method accuracy and speed while minimizing the potential for operator-dependent variability in practice. Our laboratory procedures are open to any interested customer - we will gladly provide a free copy of our SOP's.

We welcome any comments or suggestions that you may have on our approach.

YCI Food Safety Report (ISO 9001 ref.Q.M./Q.P.sec.1.2)
Yakima Chief has seen a tremendous increase in brewer inquiries about food safety in the last year. Questions have ranged from the presence of genetically modified organisms in our hops to the typical levels of radioactivity associated with hops.

Genetically Modified Organisms
YCI has access to hop varieties in both the public sector as well as those developed at Yakima Chief Ranches under supervision and coordination of the Hop Breeding Company. At YCR, the breeding process is carried out by strictly conventional means. There is no use of gene splicing/recombinant DNA technologies. All of the selections under development contain only genetic material native to Humulus species. This same restriction applies to all current hop varieties.

Products for your account have hops as the only biological component. Therefore, you may be assured that no modified proteins nor traces of "non-hop" DNA are present in material supplied to you.

We thus hereby certify that hops and hop products delivered to our customers are GMO-free and conform to related Food Safety Legislation/Regulations in force

Heavy Metals, Radioactivity and Pesticides
We have developed a monitoring program to efficiently serve the brewer's needs.

Reports on the actual determined levels for select heavy metals and pesticide residues are obtained periodically; twice per year; on randomly selected lots of hop pellets and extract. Due to the vertical integration of Yakima Chief, Inc.; from hop field to brewery, and thanks to the elaboration of an information system allowing complete traceability throughout the supply chain; we also proceed with those analysis of residual pesticides on hop products derived from those hops which have been identified as having received higher than average crop treatments. The related reports and certificates of analysis can be obtained on demand.

To assure you of test objectivity, samples are submitted to nationally known laboratories for analysis and reporting. All relevant laboratory contact information is reported in the documents we provide, in addition to the analytical data. We can also provide copies of original Certificates of Analysis if you desire.

Based referenced monitoring program, we hereby certify that hops and hop products delivered to our customers are conform to the Food Safety Legislation/Regulations in force.

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