Yakima’s Hop Region Home to New Brewery Boom

Drive through the Yakima Valley, east of Washington’s Cascade Mountains, and you’ll immediately notice the hops and the grape vines. They both seem to be everywhere, mixed in with swaths of apple, pear and cherry orchards.

Wineries are easy to come by in Yakima, but what of the breweries? There have historically been astoundingly few breweries despite the massive amount of beer hops grown in the region. In fact, the Yakima area contains 77 percent of the total United States hop crop growing on 75 percent of the country’s total hop acreage. That’s staggering — but there’s no beer to be found.

That tide is starting to turn. A hop-growing family opened Bale Breaker brewery in the hop fields in 2013, and they’ve received a lot of attention for their excellent, hop-forward brews.

It’s taken a while for anyone else to join them, but now there are four breweries scheduled to open in the near future: Cowiche Creek Brewing Company, with a tentative opening date in September; Wandering Hop Brewing Co., scheduled for the fall; Berchman’s Brewing Company, set for this summer; and Redifer Brewing Company, also set for this summer.