We had quite a list for this year’s hop selection trip to Yakima: 10 different varieties from 4 different farms and suppliers.

With some hops we have a specific beer in mind. When smelling Citra, for example, we select exclusively for Rare Trait – searching for a softer profile with plenty of citrus, lychee and stonefruit that’s grounded in a hint of dank complexity. But with a hop like Simcoe, we have more flexibility. Our recipes that lean on Simcoe aren’t as locked in in terms of target flavor, so our main goal is to find the most “fun” hop on the table. This year’s selection caught our attention with a distinctive pithy, piney grapefruit note backed by tropical gummy candy.

Each hop lot is a unique expression of its breeding, as well as the region, soil, and climate where it develops. And over the years, we’ve apparently developed a taste for a particular terroir: this is the fourth year we’ve blind-selected an Idaho Citra and the second year in a row we’ve picked Coleman Farms Simcoe. We’re more scientists than romantics, but there’s something hard to quantify about growers and places we keep returning to again and again.

That’s really what makes this annual pilgrimage special. Hop selection is a time of gathering unlike any other. We run into friends from as close as Seattle and as far away as Australia. We spend time with farmers and get to know them better with each visit. And we get to experience hands-on, sensory immersion with one of our key ingredients, on the land that created it.

Simply put: Hop selection sits at the crux of the people, places and things that inspire us. Plus, there’s something about drinking fresh hop beer while rubbing hops that you just can’t beat.