Wet Hops

This style-spanning yearly celebration of the harvest is brewed in many ways and in many places—but the best place in the world to appreciate fresh-hopped beers is the Pacific Northwest.

Harvest-hopped beers are a seasonal delight no longer limited to breweries near the hop fields—nor even to the harvest season. Here’s a look at the logistics and tech that are expanding the harvest in time and space.

Some hop kilns are more modern, while others are more old-fashioned and hands-on. In this clip from his video course, Single Hill cofounder and head brewer Zach Turner guides us on a behind-the-scenes look at the kilns of the Yakima Valley.

Brewers wouldn't get their hops—fresh or otherwise—without the unusual machines that pick them. Here’s a look at how these pickers work on a few different farms.

Single Hill cofounder and head brewer Zach Turner explains the difference between fresh-hopping and wet-hopping, laying out a few different ways that breweries tend to use them on the hot side and cold side.

Pinthouse’s Joe Mohrfeld discusses different forms of hops—from whole leaf to Cryo—and why the best hops available might not be the best for your own beers. He also explains a technique for getting the most out of harvest-fresh wet hops.