Yakima Does Fresh Hop

By Margaret Lola:

Saturday night I found myself in downtown Yakima at the 9^th Annual Yakima Fresh Hop Festival. This was my first time to the Yakima festival and after attending, I think it may not be my last.  The Yakima Valley is the world’s number one hop producer so where better to hold a fresh hop fest then here? There were 24 breweries in attendance. Most of the breweries were from Washington and the rest being from the Northwest region (Oregon, Idaho and Northern California). For a full list of the breweries check out the official website for the Yakima Fresh Hop Festival.

http://www.freshhopalefestival.com/index.html

The Yakima fest is unlike any other beer festival I have been to so far. The atmosphere of the fest is more of a country fair feel. You don’t find or over hear beer geeks analyzing every beer and creating hype for their favorite. Lots of locals are in attendance and just want to have a good time. Gates to the fest open at 5 PM and close at 10 PM. This is only a one-day fest with brewer’s dinners happening the days leading up to festival day. Throughout the festival you see lots of folks buying whole pints and not wasting their time with just getting samples. And actually, the cost of getting a whole pint is more worthwhile price wise. Brewers actually represent their beers at the fest and most of the time you will find them pouring, or at least hanging around, their own beer.  There is also a competition of best fresh hop beer among the breweries in attendance. I believe the judging is done my people’s choice and by the end of the night the awards are handed out so if you feel inclined to geek out a little, you can go sample the winning beers. This year the wins were: Ice Harbor from Kennewick, WA, Laughting Dog from Ponderay, ID and Fermont Brewing from Seattle, WA. While I’d love to give more details about these beers the festival offers no program guide. Most of the breweries offered a one-sheet about the beers pouring at their station but to get info about any of the beers or breweries it appears the festivals takes a tech-savvy approach. On the Yakima Fresh Hop website you can find a list of all the breweries and the name of all the beers. Depending on how much information the breweries provided will depend on how much info is posted about each beer. Voting  for the people’s choice happens all through a phone app and posted online.

Other then fresh hop beers, the festival also offers local wine, a homebrew demonstration by the local homebrew club, a cigar tent, live local music that starts playing when the gates open and a wide selection of local food. The festival is also a benefit for supporting the arts in the Yakima Valley. Proceeds from the Fresh Hop Ale Festival benefit Allied Arts of the Yakima Valley, providing nearly 20% of the annual budget in support of arts programs for all ages.

http://www.alliedartsyakima.org/

After an evening filled with fresh hop beers, staying the night is a must. Waking up the next morning and walking in downtown Yakima the streets that once held the fresh hop fest now contain the Farmer’s Market. Being harvest season, the market has an amazing selection of fresh produce. I stocked up on a great variety of apples (making pie next weekend!) and some hot pepper.  Early fall is a wonderful time of year to visit Yakima. Being only three hours away from Portland makes coming out to the fresh hop festival a great weekend get away for any beer lover.