HOP BLENDS
Selected and created hop blends with a mission
WHAT ARE HOP BLENDS ?
Hop Blends are produced by blending different hop varieties to create a desired aroma profile. Dried, whole leaf hop cones are added to the pellet mill based on the various percentages of each hop variety contained in a blend recipe. They are produced into traditional T90 hop pellets, with the potential to create other advanced products such as Cryo Hops®.
Hop Blends are a valuable way to create robust aroma profiles that can’t be achieved by one single variety. With the help of lab and sensory analysis, blending hops allows us to target specific flavor and aroma components, whether it be to offer a hop substitute, or a new innovative solution for the brewhouse. Hop blends also provide us with both the ability to create a reliable and consistent hop product, or the opportunity to collaborate on a new seasonal blend each year.
CHIEF ADVANTAGES
- Consistent, reliable supply regardless of harvest yields or varying hop characteristics
- Unique and robust aroma and flavor profile that no one variety can replicate
- Sustainable product grown from existing acreage reducing the need for acreage shifts and decreasing carbon footprint
- Produced in large quantities to offer a cost-effective product
- COMMUNITY BLENDS +
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At Yakima Chief Hops we strive to be a responsible neighbor as well as positive contributors to the communities in which we live. Our Community Blend program has become an extension of our culture, as we work to support meaningful social causes and connect with diverse communities on a global scale. Using our resources as a hop supplier, our community blends allow our supply chain to go beyond beer and make contributions that impact, inspire and bring people together.
What makes these blends unique is that YCH includes brewing partners and organizations in the selection process used to formulate the blend recipes each year, making the process a true collaboration from selection to brew. Through this program, we offer brewers a way to give back year around, while brewing unique, delicious beers with an even greater purpose. Our community blends contribute to mission-driven, 501(c) 3 non-profit organizations that rely entirely on generous donations and have a direct impact on important social causes. Together with our brewing community, we are working to create something #biggerthanbeer.
In the last three years, we've seen our Community Blends program excel beyond our expectations, with more than $300,000 contributed to non-profit organizations. We look forward to expanding this important program to include additional social causes and areas of the globe. We appreciate all participating brewers, as we join forces to make a positive impact on the world.
FALCONER’S FLIGHT® BLEND
Developed in honor of Northwest brewing legend, Glen Hay Falconer, Falconer’s Flight® is a complex combination comprised of the most unique hop varieties and additional experimental hops. Falconer’s Flight® delivers a bold aroma profile with distinct tropical, citrus, floral, lemon and grapefruit characteristics. A portion of the proceeds from each Falconer’s Flight® purchase is donated to the Glen Hay Falconer Foundation to support brewing scholarships for professional and aspiring brewers.
FALCONER’S FLIGHT® 7CS
Also named to honor the legendary brewer, this proprietary pellet blend combines seven “C” hops and additional experimental varieties. Like its predecessor, 7Cs delivers strong fruit and citrus characteristics, but is layered with additional spicy, earthy overtones that allow it to function as the perfect addition to American-style ales.PINK BOOTS BLEND
YCH’s annual Pink Boots Blend was developed in partnership with Pink Boots Society, a global nonprofit organization dedicated to women in the brewing profession. Each year, a new blend recipe is selected by women from various areas of the beer industry, creating a truly collaborative hop product.
Available to both commercial and home brewers, a portion of the proceeds benefit the Pink Boots Society scholarship fund. The PBS scholarship fund helps women in the industry attend educational seminars, classes, certifications and tours. Using the scholarship program, PBS aims to assist, inspire and encourage women beer professionals to advance their careers through education.
Commercial brewers are encouraged to submit preorders by early December, which guarantees that their order will be shipped in time to participate in the Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day, a global brew day celebration for International Women’s Day on March 8th. The Pink Boots Blend also inspires brewers throughout the year to create special beers that celebrate and support all women. With this community-based blend, we are passionate about promoting diversity in both the hop and beer industries and hope to inspire brewers worldwide to do the same.
The 7th Annual Pink Boots Blend is now available!
VETERANS BLEND
The YCH Veterans Blend is an annual hop blend inspired by the military veterans of Yakima Chief Hops. Each year we collaborate with military Veteran brewers representing multiple branches of the US Armed Forces to select a different hop blend and nonprofit to receive a donation. We work with nonprofit organizations that directly support various aspects of the Veteran community and bring value to the lives of those who have served.
The release of the Veterans Blend is timed accordingly, as commercial brewers are encouraged to purchase the blend by September, in order for the hops to be shipped in time to brew and pour celebratory beers by Veterans Day. The Veterans Blend is also available in homebrew packaging in early Fall and homebrewers are encouraged to purchase to participate in a celebratory Brew Day to honor our Veterans.
With this community blend, we hope to inspire brewers to brew beers that multiply these efforts and connect heroes from field to pint. We also encourage the brewing industry to involve their neighboring Veterans in the celebratory brewing process, creating a positive and exciting experience for members of this community.
The 6th Annual Veterans Blend is now available! This year’s blend is comprised of five different Pacific Northwest-grown hop varieties including Citra®, HBC 638, Talus®, and Sabro®. YCH is also pleased to partner with Homes for Our Troops for this year’s blend as the selected nonprofit organization. More information about Homes for Our Troops can be found at https://www.hfotusa.org/
ALES FOR ALS BLEND
Ales for ALS™ is a unique craft brewery-based fundraising initiative created to accelerate drug development for people living with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
As part of the campaign, participant brewers receive a special blend of experimental hops donated by Loftus Ranches and Yakima Chief Hops. Each brewer then creates a unique beer from these hops and donates a portion of its sale to ALS TDI. Most of the limited edition beers will be available between May and August.
Get involved for a great cause! Find participating brewers in your area, search beers available for purchase, or attend an Ales for ALS™ event.
- EXPRESSION BLENDS +
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The value of blending is understood in almost every aspect of the brewing process. By blending multiple batches, a brewer gains the advantage of averages, allowing the anomalies of any single batch to be softened by the characteristics of the others. This can help tremendously in the pursuit of a consistent, reliable and balanced product.
Additionally, blending can create combinations of flavors that no single ingredient can match. By targeting specific flavor components, a brewer can blend hops, malts, yeasts, even different beers to create a whole that’s greater than the sum of its parts. The synergy between blended ingredients opens up a wider flavor spectrum and allows brewers flexibility that can’t be achieved by a single ingredient. Yakima Chief Hops has a long history of utilizing blending for the same reasons, allowing new, innovative products to spring forth and creating valuable solutions for brewers.
Pacific Crest Blend
The YCH Pacific Crest Blend is a specifically formulated hop blend that targets the hallmark profiles and terpene ratios of noble varieties. Blended with 100% American hops using existing acreage, Pacific Crest is a consistent, sustainable choice for all continental styles, including helles, kölsch, witbier, hefeweizen, adjunct lager, and beyond. As a solutions-based hop product, Pacific Crest was intentionally crafted to elevate specific beer styles needing distinct, customized ingredients.
Zythos® Blend
Named in honor of the Greek word for beer, Zythos is born of the inseparable bond between American hops and craft beer. This T-90 pellet blend is comprised of publicly available varieties delivering hallmark aromas that define Pacific Northwest hops. With an aroma profile that includes orange zest, jasmine flower and pine, Zythos delivers bold, dynamic flavors and aromas beyond the bounds of what any single varietal could offer. Made from 100% American-grown publicly available varieties, Zythos is a consistent, stable solution to suit a wide array of beers.
- NEW! FLAVOR BLEND +
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Yakima Chief Hops has pioneered the use of cutting-edge hop lab analysis techniques to further unlock the maximum potential of aroma hops. The YCH R&D facility houses one of the only labs in the world with the capability to analyze hops via GC-QTOF and GC-SCD technology and study previously undetectable aromatic components. This technology allows us to explore the aroma potential of novel hop compounds—specifically beer-soluble compounds that survive the brewing process.
CRYO POP® ORIGINAL BLEND
BORN OF BEER SOLUBLE HOP COMPOUND RESEARCH
In 2017, Yakima Chief Hops launched a line of innovative hop products known as Cryo Hops® using a cryogenic hop-processing technology that separates whole cones into two components—concentrated lupulin and bract. These concentrated lupulin pellets provide brewers with maximum aroma impact while reducing the negative effects often experienced with today’s high hopping rates. We combined this novel process with GC-QTOF and GC-SCD technology to create the Cryo Pop blend. The data is utilized to engineer a pellet that contains very high concentrations of the most beer-soluble aromatic components—monoterpene alcohols, esters, and polyfunctional thiols. The result is a supercharged pellet that provides brewers with a dynamic solution for juicy, fruit-forward, highly aromatic applications, showing massive tropical, stonefruit, and citrus aromas.
HOW TO USE:
Single-Hop Beers – Because Cryo Pop blend pellets have already been engineered with specific component ratios in mind, they can be used for 100% of the hop bill as an all-in-one solution for brewers desiring juicy peach, pineapple, grapefruit, and daiquiri-like aromas. They provide such powerful and dynamic aroma and flavor profiles that they can create a robust “single hop” beer with the use of one hop blend.
Blend Amplifier – Cryo Pop blend pellets can be used to amplify the character of other existing hop combinations. When used as a 20-40% portion of a hop bill, Cryo Pop blend pellets will elevate levels of geraniol, linalool, esters, and polyfunctional thiols, enhancing and elevating the characteristics of other hop varieties.
Raw Material for Biotransformation – Recent research suggests that high levels of monoterpene alcohols and polyfunctional thiols in a wort stream can create the conditions necessary for the yeast metabolism of hop-derived compounds, otherwise known as “biotransformation.” Cryo Pop blend pellets are a perfect choice for loading whirlpool and active fermentation dry hop additions with these components, thus creating a dynamic environment for yeast and hops to provide maximum aroma expression.
HOW TO BREW WITH HOP BLENDS?
Hop Blends may be brewed with using the same application as the product format in which they are produced, whether it is T-90 Hop Pellets or Cryo Hops® Pellets. Due to the multi-dimensional aroma profiles, Hop Blends can easily create a robust single hop ale. However, with the varying flavor components of Hop Blends, they also complement other varieties well and can activate new unique flavors.
KETTLE: Hop Blends may be used at any point during the pre-boil and boil stages of the brewing process. Exact utilization rates will vary based on brewhouse efficiency.
Post-Boil/Whirlpool: Hop Blends are a perfect solution for post-boil/whirlpool applications. Dosing rates will vary based on desired aroma intensity. Note that some bitterness will be extracted any temperatures above 140°F (60°C).
Fermentation: Hop Blends may be used in active-fermentation dry hop scenarios. Please take extra care to ensure the safety of your brewery in this step, as additional fermentation activity can cause foam-over of cellar vessels.
Dry hopping: Hop Blends are an excellent choice for dry-hopping. The fine particle size and low density of Yakima Chief Hops’ pellets allow for maximum extraction of bold aromas and flavors.