Yakima Valley Hops: History, Cultivation, and Regional Significance

The Yakima Valley contains approximately 75% of the total United States hop acreage. Farms average 450 acres (182 hectares) and account for over 77% of the total United States hop crop. Across Washington, many hop farms remain third or fourth generation family operations.

The Story of Hops

Growing Your Beer Since 1872

Yakima Valley Hop History

Hops are perennial climbing plants belonging to the hemp family (Cannabinaceae). The wild hop (Humulus mas) differs considerably from its cultivated relative (Humulus lupulus), which contributes aroma and bitterness to beer while also helping preserve it. Producing a high-quality brewer’s hop has required centuries of cultivation. Because hops are used almost entirely for brewing, their development is closely connected to the history and geographic spread of beer.

Hop Botany

Hops are dioecious plants, meaning each individual plant produces either male or female flowers. Cones develop only on female plants. Propagation occurs through cuttings. At harvest, the above-ground growth is removed, leaving the rootstock to produce new shoots the next spring.

The rootstock holds the reserves that allow the plant to reach 30 inches in spring with virtually no other nourishment. New shoots emerge from the rootstock and carry hooked hairs that help the bines hold onto their supports as they climb. In the Yakima Valley, bines may gain up to 14 inches in one day, while typical growth is about 4 inches.

Leaves emerge at the bine’s nodes. Their undersides are smooth, whereas the upper surfaces are covered in fine hairs.

Once the bines have reached halfway up the trellises, lateral branches begin to develop. A plant’s combined laterals may extend to 360 feet. Since hop cones form almost entirely along these laterals, their growth has a major effect on yield.

Following a flowering period of 3 to 4 weeks, cones develop, mature, and become ready for harvest. The cone contains the compounds that make hops so valuable to brewers.

Hop specialists can distinguish varieties through the plant’s shape and aroma, as well as through the colors found in its different parts.

Hop Farming in the Yakima Valley

Charles Carpenter, described as one of the first growers, is said to have started hop farming in the Yakima Valley in 1872. His father, a settler in Constable, New York, provided the cuttings. In 1876, Yakima shipped 80 bales of hops west. By the beginning of 1890, hop production had expanded toward the southeast, and Yakima County had become Washington State’s leading hop-producing area.

Throughout US hop-growing regions, the years from 1920 to 1940 brought Prohibition, the Depression, and related overproduction, placing Washington State’s planters’ livelihoods at risk. Despite these challenges, Yakima Valley farmers could produce hops at a lower cost than anywhere else in the world. Their willingness to adopt new approaches led them early to seedless hops and to improve hop-picking quality. Those changes formed the foundation of the strong reputation of "Yakima Hops." The region’s hops were shipped around the world, especially from 1939-1950.

The Yakima region has one further notable advantage: it is the only region in the world in which a farmer can plant cuttings in the spring and expect a full harvest in autumn. This allows local farmers to respond more rapidly to marketplace changes.

The Yakima Valley Hop Region Today

Depending on annual yields and changing markets, the Yakima Valley represents 70-75% of the total United States hop acreage. The average farm size is 450 acres (182 hectares), and those farms account for around 3/4 of the total United States hop crop. Many Washington hop farms are third or fourth generation family operations.

Most growers also cultivate fruit, while some produce mint, grapes, and row crops. A typical Washington hop grower raises both aroma and alpha varieties. Most Washington hops, however, are alpha and super alpha varieties. Key Washington aroma varieties include Willamette, Cascade, and Mt. Hood. Alpha varieties include Columbus/Tomahawk, Zeus, Nugget, and Galena; together, these account for more than half of Washington hop acreage.

Commercial hop production in the State of Washington occurs only in the Yakima Valley. The Valley contains three distinct growing areas: the Moxee Valley, the Yakama Nation Reservation, and the Lower Yakima Valley. Although these areas are no more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) apart, each has its own growing conditions.

With its somewhat warmer climate, the Lower Yakima Valley can deliver outstanding yields from first year (baby) hop plantings. The area also supports many other crops, making diversification straightforward for growers. The lands of the Yakama Nation sit in the middle of the Yakima Valley and are especially known for their expansive open spaces and capacity to produce superior alpha levels.

The Yakima Valley of Washington State is one of the most important hop growing regions in the world. Approximately two-thirds of the hops produced there are exported to countries around the globe. Sophisticated, environmentally friendly, irrigation techniques and favorable growing conditions enable the Yakima Valley to consistently produce the finest hops in the world.

Sources

Photos Courtesy of the Yakima Valley Museum. The Hop Atlas: The History & Geography of the Cultivated Plant, published by John Barth & Son in Nuremberg, Germany in 1994. usahops.org

American Hop Museum

Visitors to the Yakima Valley can explore the American Hop Museum to learn about the region’s hop industry. With the majority of the world's hops grown in this region, the museum offers visitors from outside the area an opportunity to experience its history through live hop plants, historical equipment, a video about the past and future of hop cultivation, and a gift shop.

Fun Hop Facts

• The hop is a perennial climbing plant of the HEMP family (Cannabinaceae).
• From earliest times, monks were active in growing hops and brewing beer. During Lent, beer replaced food to a large extent.
• Only female hop plants produce cones.

The source page also includes a historical reflection attributed to Yakima Craft Brewing about Bert Grant’s influence on the craft beer industry, the founding of Bert Grant's Real Ales in 1982 in the Opera House in Yakima, and the continued use of Bert’s original boil kettle. The passage notes that Bert Grant, Grant's Real Ales, and Yakima Brewing & Malting are no longer operating, while emphasizing Bert Grant’s initial impact and the kettle’s ongoing brewing use. The attribution is Yakima Craft Brewing.

Yakima Valley Craft Beer Experiences

The page highlights breweries and cideries, beer festivals and events, Craft Beer Trail Tours, and a Craft Beer Road Trip Idea. It also features a field guide to hops and additional hop-history material.