Rachel Doxey - Yakima Hop Scholarship PIF
Hop harvest in Yakima, WA is every brewing industry professional’s dream- and in September, I got to live it alongside four other Pink Boots members thanks to a Pink Boots Society scholarship and the Yakima chapter!
I have been working for Sycamore Brewing (now Club West) in Charlotte, NC for about four years. As a lab specialist, I am responsible for quality assurance and control, with a strong interest in sensory. Over the past year, I have wanted to dive deeper into ingredient sensory, and what better place to start than hops! While some of my coworkers have traveled to harvest before, we have participated in remote harvest in more recent years due to being on the East Coast. The Pink Boots Society Yakima Hop Harvest scholarship gave me not only to experience hop harvest firsthand, but also to go behind the scenes of the industry- and meet the incredible network of women driving it in Yakima.
We had four packed days in Yakima, spending most of our time touring hop farms including CLS, Morrier, Sauve & Sons, Double R, and Perrault. Each farmer was welcoming, knowledgeable, and generous with their time. It was fascinating to see the range in scale: some farms were running harvest 24/7 and others had two to three harvesting lines running simultaneously. The technology was equally impressive, whether focused on efficiency, like Perrault’s horizontal systems, or environmental impact. Elizabeth Morrier McGree highlighted Morrier Farms’ sustainability efforts, specifically their water management since Yakima Valley has experienced droughts in 2023 and 2024. One constant across all farms was that they were multi-generational operations- a testament to the pride and tradition in this industry.
We also visited leading hop industry companies for deeper insight into processing and selection. RahrBSG showed us how raw hops are processed and packaged to the final product that most of us are used to seeing at our breweries. Yakima Chief Hops hosted presentations from their sensory scientists, sharing how they built and utilized their in-house sensory program, and from their marketing team, explaining how breweries can use ingredients like hops as “story tellers” to increase engagement and differentiate in the industry. Haas ran our group through how they would conduct a hop selection with customers and taught us real-life skills on evaluating visual, physical, and sensory qualities of pellets that we can take back to our own breweries' selections.
As a lab specialist, the research facilities were a highlight! At Yakima Chief Hops, we saw how breeding and propagation research is directly implemented in the field, including experimental varieties and maintaining virus-free plants. We even made our own media and participated in early propagation steps placing stems into media filled test tubes. At the USDA Hop Breeding and Research facility, we learned about Dr. Kayla Altendorf’s work in genomics-assisted hop breeding. She took us to her lot and we got to tag bines that we thought looked heathy and best to harvest.
The big finale was a brew day at Single Hill Brewery! Our scholarship group and other members of the Pink Boots Yakima chapter joined the team at Single Hill to select hops from various farmers and use them in our brew of “Six Sisters” fresh hop pale ale. Single Hill’s process was incredible- they use whole-cone hops in the hopback and even pelletize fresh hops in-house for whirlpool and dry hop with a small pelletizer. Beyond the brewing, it was an amazing opportunity to connect with the brewers, other staff from Single Hill, and all of the women who hosted us all week. An extra perk was the impressive menu of fresh hop beers that Single Hill had on tap!
When I was a kid, the only thing I knew about Yakima was the reference on the show iCarly, when her grandfather is making her move to Yakima. There is a part where he brings her a “I heart Yakima” shirt. After this week, I really want that shirt, because it is true: I heart Yakima! The valley is beautiful, the agriculture is vital, and the community is incredibly tight-knit. This small city is nestled in a beautiful valley landscape, and is an agriculture hub, one that the beer industry wouldn’t exist without! Across the farms, production facilities, and research labs, we saw firsthand how collaboration drives innovation in the hop industry. Many people have worn multiple hats in their careers, creating a shared knowledge that strengthens the entire community.
One of the most valuable takeaways for me was the hop sensory training from Yakima Chief Hops. As my brewery plans to continue remote selections, I am excited to build a sensory training and evaluation program to use in years to come. Yakima Chief Hops showed how to make inexpensive standards, by using options like coffee syrups, candy flavoring, essential oils, and tea bags. Starting with our flagship IPA, one that usually drives our selection during harvest, I can make standards of what profiles we are looking for in our hops. From there we can calibrate our panel to our standards so when we begin selection, we have an agreement of what we are actually looking for, and are able to distinguish nuanced differences- like woody vs. earthy or grapefruit vs. orange- leading to more precise hop selections.
I highly recommend the Pink Boots Society Yakima Hop Harvest scholarship to all members! My diverse scholarship group came from all across America, and was made up of brewers, an academic professor, and a lab specialist. The vast amount of exposure we got during this trip allowed us to leave with beneficial knowledge that we can use in our own roles. No matter what your role is in the brewing industry, this experience deepens your understanding of a critical ingredient while connecting you with inspiring leaders in the field. Hop harvest alone is unforgettable, but sharing it with the women who make it happen makes it even more special!
