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The New Zealand hopped star of our core range has now been part of the history of Abbeydale Brewery for EIGHTEEN YEARS! Happy birthday, Deception!

Packed full of tasty New Zealand hops, bursting with an elderflower aroma and flavours of gooseberry and juicy white grape. Twice Champion Beer of Sheffield, and a firm favourite amongst both staff and customers, we really wanted to celebrate this much-loved brew becoming old enough to buy itself a pint… and fittingly, this occasion falls right at the start of our thirtieth anniversary year too! And so we’ve brought back one of our most requested specials, a beer that pays great homage to our Nelson Sauvin hopped pale and yet simultaneously brings a new twist to it too – it’s CRYO DECEPTION!

Using the same gorgeous hop, just in myriad different ways, Cryo Deception includes Nelson Sauvin in leaf, T90 and Cryo form, added throughout the brewing process. A slightly higher ABV than “regular” Deception at 4.8% helps all those delectable aromas come to the fore with an extra oomph of flavour. Light, luscious and very refreshing.

The story of Deception starts back in 2008, when we were trialling some new hops in a series of specials.  Friend of the brewery Stuart Noble wouldn’t stop talking about a new hop from New Zealand, Nelson Sauvin, a hop that supposedly brought with it flavours of Sauvignon Blanc, and so we thought we’d give it a go.  Our hop suppliers, Charles Faram, also knew how much our brewery owner Pat loved experimenting with new varieties and so were happy to help us get our gauntlet gloves on some. We brewed one full brew length of it, sold out of it within weeks and promptly had to brew it again!   

We then had so many requests for it we brewed it every year. (As a slight aside, the following year, word on the street was a hop called Citra and we used that in Duck Baffler – another perennial beer, also available now as a cask special!) Deception remained an annual release until 2013 when we were finally able to pin down a regular supply of Nelson Sauvin and fulfil the demand all year round! Deception is now one of the longest standing beers in the UK to make use of Nelson Sauvin, and is right at the heart of our range, second only to Moonshine in terms of the volumes we produce.

Deception was formative in the beer journeys of many of Team Abbeydale and holds plenty of fond memories for us all.  It was the very first beer our brewer Christie both bought for himself, and served a pint of as a bartender at the Kelham Island Tavern, and many of you may know both our Export Manager Robin, and our Retail Manager Lucienne from their days slinging a LOT of pints from behind the bar at Shakespeare’s – still one of our biggest customers .

To help us celebrate this milestone, here’s a list of some of the venues joining us to showcase Nelson Sauvin at its fruity, fantastic finest! At all of these below you’ll find either Deception and/or Cryo Deception from the week of Monday 19^th January:

• Rising Sun, Fulwood… who are also hosting Deception’s birthday party! Drop in between 5-7pm on Wednesday 21^st December for a FREE tasting with our brewer Christie! Donations to our charity of the year, Ben’s Centre, would be much appreciated.
• Wonky Labrador, Hangingwater
• Shakespeare’s, Kelham Island
• Harlequin, Kelham Island
• Cremorne, Sheffield
• Bath Hotel, Sheffield City Centre
• Lord Nelson, Sheffield City Centre
• Hop Hideout, Sheffield City Centre
• Itchy Pig, Banner Cross 
• Banner Cross, Banner Cross
• Dark Horse, Banner Cross
• Crown and Cushion, Burncross
• Brothers Arms, Heeley
• Broomhill Tavern, Broomhill
• The Local, Ecclesall Road
• Devonshire Arms, Dore
• Commercial, Chapeltown
• Three Stags Heads, Wardlow Mires
• Beer Parlour, Chesterfield
• Jack Hawley at the Grange, Doncaster
• Old Hall Inn, Chinley
• Rambler Inn, Edale
• Clarkes Sibin, Chorley
• Jacobs Beer House, Bradford 
• Crafty Fox, Brighouse 
• Victoria Inn, Rugby
• Draughtsman, Doncaster Train Station
• Whaley Nook, Whaley Bridge
• Nook & Cranny, Harwood
• Dandy Cock, Kirkby in Ashfield
• White Lion, Barrow-in-Furness

And cans of Cryo Deception will be available from Wednesday 21^st January (Deception’s actual birthday) from the following retailers:

• Beer Central, Sheffield City Centre
• Starmore Boss, Sharrow Vale
• Premier Valley Road, Sheffield
• Dunston Hall Food and Deli
• Trembling Madness, York
• Penistone Beer Shop

… with more to follow! And of course you will be able to find it at our online and onsite shops too.

Happy 18^th birthday, Deception!

Cheers,

Team Abbeydale

Introducing Reverence! A pale ale weighing in at just 0.5% ABV. Low in alcohol, but full of flavour, without sacrifice. Designed to sit comfortably within our already expansive range, further improving the extent of our creations and demonstrating our commitment to making our products as accessible as we can.

Reverence is packed full of Mosaic hops (including being dry hopped using innovative hop extract Hyperboost), inspired by our popular American Pale Ale, Heathen, which has been the flagship of our Brewers’ Emporium range since 2016. But a baby Heathen this brew is not intended to be! We believe it’s a beer that holds its own alongside the rest of our range – the ultimate session beer, crisp and crushable with an aromatic and punchy hop character. Expect refreshing tropical flavours and notes of zesty grapefruit, with a delicate bitterness in the finish to round out the profile beautifully. Juicy, easy-drinking, delicious. Like all our beers, it’s gluten free.

As demand for low-and-no alcohol products has grown over the past few years, we knew that this was a gap in our offering. And for a long time, we were ok with that – we weren’t sure that a low alcohol beer was quite in our wheelhouse (some of you may remember we explained the reasons for this back when we launched our Sparkling Hop Water in 2023). But after years of hard work, careful and extensive research, and meticulous lab analysis, coupled with an array of technological advancements in the wider field, we’ve changed our minds! We can honestly say we’re incredibly proud of the results. Something that looks like beer, tastes like beer, is brewed like any other beer… and simply is a proper beer, for beer lovers, but with just a tiny fraction of the booze.

For those of you who like a bit of technical spiel, here’s the method behind our Reverence. We produce a wort in exactly the same way as for our other beers – our base malt Maris Otter barley is the main ingredient, just the same as the rest of our range, with a little Caramalt and Carapils for a hint of biscuit character, and oats for a more luscious body. The differences are that we mash in at a higher temperature and using much less grain, which results in more complex sugars being produced. Regular ale yeast eats up sugar (especially maltose, the primary sugar found in most worts) and breaks it down into alcohol and CO2. We use a different yeast strain for this beer – Lallemand LoNa, which doesn’t like or eat maltose. We still get a little bit of fermentation from very simple sugars, which is important as whilst this doesn’t produce much at all in the way of alcohol, it does produce natural acids, reduces worty aldehydes from the grain and lots of other clever things that means we end up with something that tastes more like beer than Ovaltine. Hooray!

The name itself pays homage to the care and attention we take in the development of each and every one of our brews, and the high regard in which we hold them. We hope – and believe – that shines through in Reverence.

Cheers!

Team Abbeydale

Reverence is available now in 440ml cans, including from our online shop.

To herald not just the new year, but the start of our 30^TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR(!!), we’ve created our own take on a style we’ve never before brewed… an 80 Shilling Ale!

If you’re wondering what on earth an 80 Shilling Ale is, it’s a traditional, malt-forward and full-bodied beer. Ours is delicately constructed with our base Maris Otter barley and UK grown Goldings hops, before being coloured with caramel, as is tradition. The resulting beer is rich and smooth with a light copper hue and flavours of toffee and dried fruits. Simple yet satisfying and extremely well balanced, with a gentle bitterness in the finish. Our version is loosely inspired by a recipe dating from 1957, also the year the space race began and the frisbee won the accolade of most popular toy.

Sitting in our Restoration series, paying homage to the most classic of beer styles, the artwork takes inspiration from the Scottish heritage behind this brew, with Edinburgh Castle hand drawn by our fabulous designer James. The background image shows an etching by Scottish artist Walter Geikie of the Grassmarket in Edinburgh at the foot of the castle.

And of course, we couldn’t talk about Scottish beer and January without giving a shout out to Burns Night! We reckon this could just be the perfect accompaniment to your haggis, neeps and tatties (with a wee dram to follow of course) – in fact, it’s a beer that’s mellow enough to complement all manner of wintery dishes, from a rich beefy stew to a classic cheeseboard. The Rising Sun have a special Burns Night menu for one night only on Monday January 26th too – booking essential, head here to view the menu and reserve your table!

 80 Shilling Ale is available now in cask and can, including from our online shop. In the words of The Bard himself – “O gude ale comes and gude ale goes”… this one won’t be around for long, so don’t miss out!

Slàinte Mhath!

Team Abbeydale

2025 – our first full year of being employee owned! Our team genuinely feels stronger than ever, and we believe that’s reflected in the beers we’ve released over the last 12 months. We’ve achieved close to 5% growth from last year, which is almost double our own hopes and expectations… and all against a general climate which is still making things incredibly difficult for our industry as a whole. We’re truly humbled to have somewhat bucked the trend here, and so grateful for the support of our customers to be able to do so – it really is something we would never take for granted.

Our first year as an EOT was recognised twice over! We won the amazing accolade of Employer of the Year at the SIBA (Society of Independent Brewers) Business Awards , followed up by our founder Pat coming away with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Brewers Choice Awards. And we were the only brewery to make the finals of the BBC Food & Farming Awards, being named on the shortlist for Best Drinks Producer! All key highlights of 2025 for us.

There were more awards for our beers, too! Voyager cans scooped a Silver and cask Deception won a Bronze medal in the SIBA NE Indie Beer Awards, our thirst-quenching Nelson Sauvin Sparkling Hop Water was awarded a Silver at the World Alcohol Free Awards, and our Black IPA, Black Mass, was named Speciality IPA Category Champion at the SIBA North East Indie Beer Awards as well as taking away the Silver medal in the Champion Beer of Sheffield competition.

During the course of 2025, we brewed a total of 328 times, creating 96 individual beers (and two Sparkling Hop Waters!), adding up to almost 3 MILLION pints… over a million of which were our beloved Moonshine! Our first brew of the year was Moonshine, and the last beer of the year, which we’re making as I share this, is Heathen, beautifully bookending 2025 with the flagship brews from our two key ranges. And we strengthened our commitment to making our beer as accessible as we can to those who want to drink it, with our entire range becoming gluten free.

Cask beer remains the beating heart and soul of our business, with over three quarters of our output going to wonderful pubs nationwide and beyond!. But it’s not all we can do (totally intentional pun), with us filling over 250,000 cans too!

We had success internationally, almost doubling our export volumes when compared to 2024. We sent our beer to Ireland and Germany for the first time (including a collaboration brew and two tap takeovers in the Rhineland!), plus securing new distributors in Finland and Sweden.  And the furthest apart you’d be able to find yourself an Abbeydale beer over the course of the year was around 1250 miles – from Dublin to Helsinki!

Our charity of the year was the wonderful local cause Ben’s Centre – we raised £790 which will go towards supporting vulnerable people in our community. And we gained a celebrity fan in the form of Sheffield legend Sean Bean, who sampled our beers whilst we celebrated Weston Park Museum’s 150^th birthday together.

So after all that… what does 2026 have in store for Team Abbeydale? Well, it’s our 30^th anniversary year! Our actual birthday isn’t until August, but we’re not limiting the celebrations to a single day and have a PLETHORA of exciting plans in the pipeline that we can’t wait to share with you! We hope you’ve already seen our limited edition bottles of Henderson’s Relish (the last of which are available exclusively in our on site shop, now open 5 days a week!). Stay tuned for some very special beer releases… starting with some Very Big News that we hope is going to tickle the fancy of those of you about to embark on Dry January!

Wishing you all a very happy new year, and a bountiful 2026.

Cheers!

Team Abbeydale

The Rising Sun (winner of the 2022 Sheffield & District CAMRA Pub of the Year award, and Pub of the Year for Sheffield West in 2023 and 2025) is a welcoming community pub based in the leafy Sheffield suburb of Fulwood. The pub has a long and rich history, of which Abbeydale Brewery’s ownership is the latest chapter – and today, 19^th December 2025, marks twenty years since we took the helm! So we thought it was a good time to share with you a few nuggets of info about the past of our gorgeous pub, while we look forward to the future.

A pub has been situated in the Rising Sun’s location since the 19th century – it first appeared in the 1859 General Directory of Sheffield. The name was chosen for pubs facing east and receiving the early-morning sun, as the original building did. The current building opened when the owners, the Sheffield Town Trustees, agreed to provide land for the widening of Fulwood Road to Sheffield Corporation, in return for the demolition and reconstruction of the original pub – which the widened road (to fit electric tram lines in the early twentieth century) was built right through the middle of! Scroll down to the bottom of this post to see a photo of the original building, with a much more familiar looking Rising Sun in the process of being built almost at a right angle to it!

The existing building opened in July 1904, operated by the Sheffield Public House Trust Company and with J. Rowbotham as the first manager. A newspaper report from 1907 stated that “at the Rising Sun, the demand for teas, Bovril, meat sandwiches, and bread and cheese has been exceedingly great” (we like to think our menu offering has become somewhat elevated since then!)

The pub has always been at the heart of its community, hosting events such as the Nethergreen floral and vegetable show just after the turn of the twentieth century, where no less than FIFTEEN prizes were given out for differing types of award-winning kidney bean.

Mid-century, the license was taken over by the Courage group – and fun fact: according to long time regulars of the pub, until the 1950s, the car park behind the pub was a bowling green, with a wooden verandah spanning the back of the pub to make sure spectators had a good view. Interestingly, we couldn’t find any evidence or photographs of this, but we think it might still be hidden under the tarmac!

The pub had a famous landlord in the 1980s, when Graham Pugh, football player for Sheffield Wednesday in the 1966 FA Cup Final, took over the pub with his wife Susan.  And then in July 1992, the University of Sheffield Students’ Union took over the pub, who were in charge right up until…

Abbeydale Brewery took ownership, just in time for Christmas 2005! We officially took over the pub on the 19th December, and reopened on Christmas Eve – some might say we don’t do things the easy way! In the days between taking the pub and reopening there was lots to do, mainly cleaning, painting, installing new cellar kit and restocking everything from beer (of course), wine and spirits to glasses and the all-important crisps and snacks. One of these wintery mornings, whilst sitting outside enjoying a well-earned cup of coffee, our brewery founders Pat and Sue Morton noted the sheer number of dog walkers passing by. There and then, the Rising Sun became dog friendly, and remains so to this day.

Pat’s brother, Chris, was the first Abbeydale landlord. He did not take to it as a long-term prospect and was replaced by Dave and Karen Beaumont. After leaving the pub, Dave continued to work for us as a delivery driver at the brewery, until he retired in 2020. And our long-standing regulars will likely also remember Rob and Julie, who managed the pub for many years including overseeing the original Sunfest! The idea of Sunfest came about one bank holiday weekend when Rob was chatting to Pat, and suggested a beer festival to help to put the pub on the map. “Absolutely!” said Pat. “How many beers could we do?” asked Rob – “At least 100” was the reply. “I was thinking 6!” said Rob. Pat, of course, got his way, and the festival was a real highlight of Sheffield’s beer calendar for many years.

An extensive refurbishment took place in 2014, creating the welcoming and spacious venue we have today. The extension was designed by David Uhlar of Robin Ashley Architects. Much of the interior design was done by David, ably assisted by Dawn Milton, the business’ Finance Manager, and Nicole Tissington, then manager of the pub along with her husband Ryan. Dawn and Nicole did a fantastic job sourcing many of the furnishings, ornaments and pictures which still adorn the pub today.

Since 2018, we’ve had Absolution’s number one fan Garry at the helm, who continues to strengthen the Rising Sun’s links with local people whilst showcasing what we at Abbeydale Brewery do best! And as of 2024, Garry and the pub staff became employee owners of the business, as part of Sheffield Beerworks – our Employee Ownership Trust. The Rising Sun is one of very few pubs in the country to operate under this model and it’s a real confirmation of our values, our ethos, and our independence.

We’re incredibly proud of our pub and the team there and it’s a privilege to be a part of such a long-standing community venue’s legacy. With the brewery celebrating its 30^th anniversary next year – and with 20 years of the Rising Sun as a really important part of our history – we’ve got some exciting plans underway which are still under wraps for now… but watch this space closely, all will be revealed soon!

Please do pop in for a pint or two and to sample their fantastic menu! You can read more about the pub, as well as find out how to book a table, on their website here.

Cheers!

Team Abbeydale

*As well as our own research, we’d like to extend thanks to Dave Pickersgill for contributing towards the historical background in this piece. If you enjoyed learning about the Rising Sun of yore, you can find much more about Sheffield’s pubs of historical interest in Dave’s book, Sheffield’s Real Heritage Pubs, which you can download here.

CHRISTMAS IS COMING! We’ve got a huge range of beers to choose from to fill your fridge ready for the festive season, including a selection of carefully curated mixed cases, as well as some ace gift ideas for that special someone.

First up, the clue is in the name with our beautiful gift boxes! We have a choice of these available each featuring 3 delicious beers and a glass, perfect for a Secret Santa present. We’ve got plenty of lovely merchandise too, including our GORGEOUS new handthrown ceramic tankards, made by the wonderful Lucy Young Ceramics. These really are special and would make a wonderfully unique gift.

You can kit yourself out in Abbeydale garms head to toe, quite literally as we have both hats and socks available 😉 as well as our snuggly new Drink Cask sweatshirts! We’ve also released tickets to our amazing brewery tours, taking place over 2 weekends in January, for those looking for a unique experience to give as a gift. And if you’re not sure what your recipient’s usual tipple is, there’s always the option of a voucher to allow them to choose for themselves.

Having a Christmas shindig? The ever popular 9-pint minikegs of our beloved flagship pale ale Moonshine are now available to pre-order, and we also offer 72-pint casks of our core beers that come complete with everything you need for beer festival style service, simply perfect for parties and a real showpiece!

Our shop is open 9am-5pm every weekday, and from 1^st December until Christmas we’ll have a later opening until 6pm each Thursday, PLUS you can pop to see us on Saturdays 12-4, maybe after picking up some delicious pastries for the weekend from our neighbours Forge Bakehouse?! And just a reminder that we can deliver to your door nationwide (full casks excluded, sorry!) – we recommend ordering before Thursday 18^th December to ensure delivery before the big day.

Christmas is the season of giving, so we’d also like to give a shout out to our Charity of the Year, Ben’s Centre. Their seasonal appeal is “Give Comfort This Christmas”, asking in particular for donations of socks and underwear to provide to their clients. If you’re able to donate, the link is here.

And don’t forget, if you’re still looking for the perfect spot for a Christmas get together, our lovely pub The Rising Sun would love you pay them a visit for a pint or two!

Support local, support independent, enjoy the pub and have a very merry Christmas time!

Cheers,

Team Abbeydale x

Ah, the holiday season is almost upon us, and with it, the festive frenzy of socialising, merriment and an abundance of food and drink. Don’t overthink it – beer and crisps can be a fun, simple and ultimately very enjoyable way to add a bit of pizzazz to your festive buffet, or a satisfying snack to get you through a stint of gift wrapping.

Here’s a few suggestions for some partnerships we think work particularly well, but don’t feel you need to take our word for it – the short version of this blog is our marketing manager Laura relishing every single pairing and declaring “I think I just really like beer and crisps” which nicely demonstrates that there aren’t any wrong answers! Experiment, choose what feels good, and let us know what you go for!

Heresy – Cheese Footballs

Kicking off (see what we did there?!) with an absolute classic. In the words of our Brewer and Quality Manager, Christie, “it’s a savoury snack and a lager, what’s not to like?”. Salty, cheesy and just a bit creamy, the retro offering that is the Cheese Football is cut through cleanly by our crisp and quaffable Heresy, providing ample refreshment to go back in for another. 

Black Mass – Twiglets

A potent and powerful beer needs a robust and flavoursome snack to go with it, and we reckon our rich and roasty yet amped up and hoppy Black IPA is a fantastic accompaniment to everyone’s favourite knobbly nibble!

Heathen – Pigs in Blankets Crisps

Yes, we know they’re just smoky bacon in a festive disguise, but PIB crisps have just the right level of oomph to stand up to our hop forward Heathen. The zesty American Pale Ale contrasts beautifully with the smokiness to refresh and cleanse the palate – a very moreish combination!

Golden Peaks – Roast Duck & Spiced Clementine Crisps

There’s always a seasonal crisp that doesn’t come back next year so we’ve decided to pair the fanciest option we could find with one of our own one-off specials – Golden Peaks, a UK hopped IPA brewed in collaboration with our local pals Triple Point. The marmaladey notes in the beer really complement these well, and the delicate star anise flavour on the crisps melds deliciously with the spicy hop character too.

Ruby Mild – Turkey Crisps

Our first ever Ruby Mild is definitely one of our most crisp friendly beers, subtle and satisfying enough to complement all manner of festive flavours. So we’ve selected the most traditional of all the Christmassy treats in crisp form to pair… turkey! This is the ideal duo just to simply relax and enjoy, without having to think too much about anything other than the company you’re with.

Stroopwafel Imperial Stout – Milk Chocolate & Cinnamon Tortilla Rolls

Now there are those amongst us that say a sweet snack has no place in a crisp based setting. Those people are wrong. We’ve doubled down on the cinnamon here and it absolutely works, with the tortilla rolls providing a welcome crunch too which make them a more approachable partner for a quick snack than a hefty slice of stollen or similar. We’ll admit this is a decadent duo but hey, there’s no better time than Christmas for a bit of extra indulgence!

Please get in touch to let us know your very own perfect pairing this Crispmas!

Festive cheers,

Team Abbeydale

Celebrating 25 years of Simcoe hops! In collaboration with Yakima Chief Hops, we’ve created a very Simcoe-y release to showcase one of our favourite ingredients from the world of humulus lupulus, and celebrate the significant impact it has had on the modern beer scene.

Back in the year 2000, a new hop variety burst onto the scene and it very quickly became a major component of the backbone of some of the world’s most sought-after beers.

Our Obsession series is the perfect place to spotlight a single hop, and so we’ve kept the malt base straightforward with just a little biscuit malt for a hint of sweetness, providing a clean backbone to allow these very special hops to truly shine. On top of that, we’ve added an absolute abundance of Simcoe, across whole cone leaf, T90 and Cryo hop form, dosed in liberally throughout the brewing process to really make the most of its wonderfully versatile nature.

Expect zesty grapefruit on the aroma, with flavours of resinous pine, more citrus fruit and a tantalising hint of fresh red berries, followed by a hearty, bitter finish. Weighing in at 5.8%, to allow for a full body without overwhelming booziness. Packed with Simcoe character, it’s bold, vibrant and we think a fitting way of putting this rockstar of the hop world centre stage.

The leaf hops we used were grown by Tributary Farms, owned by the Smith family who are founders of Yakima Chief Hops and Yakima Chief Ranches. YCR are the breeders of Simcoe (which was originally named YCR 14), so the Smiths would have been some of the original growers of Simcoe hops 25 years ago. And the T90 pellets we used in this batch were grown by Double R Hop Ranches, also one of the grower owners of YCH – 5^th generation hop growers based in Moxee, WA.

Obsession Simcoe is available now in cask, keg and can (including from our online shop). Please join us in raising a glass to a quarter of a century of this incredible hop!

With thanks to Yakima Chief Hops for the information about the hop growers, and for involving us in celebrating 25 Years of Simcoe!

A couple of weeks ago, our Production Director John was lucky enough to be invited by one of our hop suppliers, Barth Haas X, to join them at the US hop harvest! It was a whirlwind few days spent meeting the farmers, intense sensory sessions at the Hops Academy and getting to know the local beer scene – an amazing experience. Over to John, to give us a blow by blow account of a fantastic and educational work trip:

“We flew into Portland, Oregon, where the beer scene is absolutely thriving. It was straight off the plane and into a different kind of flight at Loyal Legion, where there were 100 different beers on tap covering a huge range of styles. This is where we met the Barth Haas team who were our hosts for the week – Ian, Sam, Joanne and Enrico from Barth Haas X, the UK and European arm of the business, plus Melissa from John I. Haas, which is the American side of the company. I was representing one of several breweries on the trip, with my fellow attendees from the UK and Ireland including Lee and Wayne from Brew York, Dan from Radio City, Lally from Polly’s, Cathal from Rascals in Dublin and Harry from Attic – we were also joined by brewers from Serbia, Poland and Italy. A great group of folk who it was a privilege to spend time with.  

Our first full day began at a local café called Grendels for breakfast – watch out for one of these appearing on our Mythical Creatures inspired pumpclips in 2026! We spent this day acclimatising to the new time zone and visiting some of the breweries that use hops grown by Barth Haas. Highlights included a trip to Wayfinder who specialise in brewing lagers, chatting to their incredibly knowledgeable head brewer and tasting their exceptionally clean, true to style beers. My favourite here though, was a delicious West Coast IPA called “Petting Zoo of the Damned”.

Next up we crossed the Columbia river, across the border into Washington State to visit Trapdoor Brewery, where we had opportunity to try beers using traditional hops alongside the same beer brewed using fresh “wet” hops from the recent harvest to taste the difference the alternative methods made. I learned the technique of using a leaf mulcher to help break up the freshly picked hops, in order to infuse the flavour more strongly and get the biggest character possible from them. Also superb was Grains of Wrath – big thanks to Mike for showing us around. Again, lots of lagers of varying styles were on offer, which I thought was a change from my previous trips to the US and was really interesting to see, but also a whole range of IPAs and 100+ Bourbons!

On day 2, we set off on the road to Yakima! This was a long day of travel in classically huge US trucks, taking in some sights on the way, including the spectacular Multnomah Falls. Our lunch stop was Hood River, a beautiful small town which still managed to be home to a vast number of breweries! We visited the fantastic pFriem – a huge operation which did great food (I had the local white salmon) alongside a variety of beers, including their own Kriek, and cider from the local cider farm. The stand out beer for me here was a 2023 Maple Syrup BA Smoked Porter (9.1%) – decadent and delicious. pFriem was the biggest surprise of the trip for me – it looked like a fairly small operation from the taproom, but as we were led on a tour we turned a corner to be greeted by an ENORMOUS brewery producing around 250,000 HL a year, which is over 10 times what we make here at Abbeydale! pFriem are brewing 7 days a week, 7 times a day – simply remarkable.

Continuing on our journey we passed through varied and ever-changing landscapes which felt at times like being on a Wild West movie set. After arriving in Yakima, we were lucky enough to go to Haastoberfest at Haas HQ – a beer festival put on by John I Haas to celebrate the harvest with farmers, brewers and staff. This was a brilliant evening filled with food, games (including a Stein holding competition) and of course the beer was flowing! It was great to meet the farmers and hear their perspective on growing hops. I bumped into our friends Chad and Rebecca from NoDa, as well as seeing Mike from Grains of Wrath after visiting his brewery the day before. To round off the day those still standing were taken to a local saloon bar, The Old Town Pump Saloon, for a bucket of Coors Banquet, some tunes on the jukebox and pool before a very late bedtime.

Day 3 was Hop Knowledge Day and time to go back to school! We were treated to a traditional café breakfast as it was going to be a long day in the classroom. This was actually my 2^nd breakfast of the day and was French Toast so sizeable it was served on 2 plates, with bourbon and maple syrup caramelised peaches and cream, bacon, sausages, eggs and fried potatoes, served alongside a 32oz “cup” of coffee. I skipped lunch that day!! Upon reaching the Haas Innovation Centre we learned all about hop breeding and the varieties grown in the local climate, with deep, rich fertile soils, cold winters and long hot sunny growing seasons (late Feb-November) which are ideal for growing hops (and fruit too – we saw fields and fields full of peaches, oranges and apples!). In late September there were still 12 hours of sun per day with temperatures in the 30s. There isn’t much rain, so irrigation is a crucial part of the work of the hop growers. A lot of this comes from mountain melt water which can be directed from the rivers into a canal system. We learnt that warmer winters over the last 3 years have led to less water availability and farmers are finding it more difficult to access sufficient water to keep their crops healthy. Hop acreages have reduced by 6% this year, and by 31% since 2022 – a considerable decline and indicative of the challenges the farmers are facing.

We also had a Hops Academy Masterclass with experts Jeff and Rikki, where alongside quality assurance (an area of investment for the company) we were taken through hop sensory procedures and the “sensory lexicon” or aroma notes, to calibrate our noses and make sure we were ready for selection, and how to rub hops to most effectively assess their quality. We were reminded also of the importance of making sure we were well hydrated!

Finally, there was a visit to the laboratories and brew plant, where trial varieties of hops can be used to deep dive into the qualities they bring to a beer. This meant there was an an on-site bar too to showcase beers made using these experimental hop varieties – Hoppy Hour in the taproom! We were introduced to a new product called Lupocore, a new blended product to produce consistent hop characters true to varietal style, similar in appearance to a T90 pellet but softer and crumblier, which means it can dissolve more easily and allows a greater surface area for the beer to interact with. We’re looking forward to trying Lupocore out in a future beer!

Before returning to our hotel we paid a trip to Single Hill who make some stunning fresh hop beers. Here they could not only macerate their own wet hops but also pelletise them to add them into their brews. Hops are just so integral to the breweries here; the innovation was really fantastic to see.

That evening we were hosted at the ‘Lupo Lounge event’, in the old Sports Center, where we enjoyed pizza and wings, paired with beers produced using the new Lupocore products.

The next day was hop selection, where our team were responsible for picking out the batches that will be available to all European brewers over the coming year – so no pressure! We assessed 52 batches across 8 different hop varieties, before being given a tour of the state-of-the-art pelleting plant facility. Bales were stored between 0˚C – 1˚C to maintain freshness before being pelletised. It was notable that very few leaf, whole cone hops seem to be used in the US and even for fresh hop beers they were macerated or pelleted.

Whilst in Yakima we were driven around by Dennis in the “Little Hopper” minibus, who safely got us between farms and venues, and even had a cooler full of beers in case we got thirsty on the journeys! We visited Longmire Farm for second lunch (you might see a theme developing to this trip…) as well as trying a “double triple dry hopped” beer – I didn’t manage to work out quite what it was but imagine it was like a 75-minute IPA which was then dry hopped three times. It tasted delicious! We were shown around the hop fields and their processing facilities, which were a mammoth operation and was incredibly interesting, particularly their cone separation and huge drying kilns which allowed for vast flexibility to handle large yields. Once dried to below 10% moisture, the hops were piled up into huge mountains before being packed into bales.

And after all that hard work, it was on to a karaoke night organised by Barth Haas with Yakima Valley Hops – I picked a back-row spot with no microphone. There is a video, but we’ll leave it to your imagination! [Editor: we hear John let out a sterling rendition of Sweet Caroline!] A very fun night cementing new friendships with bar games, music, food, and of course plenty of beer.

Goldings Experimental Farm was our first stop for the morning after, which is where the breeding programmes of the experimental hop varieties take place. Here the emphasis is on seeking out new and interesting aromas and flavours, alongside good yields and disease/environmental resistance. Citra and Mosaic were created here, and there are currently 4000 varieties being cultivated. The hop processing facility would be the envy of hop farmers across the UK, with state-of-the-art equipment, meaning the hops can be treated at an early stage in their development exactly how they would be when in full production. After sampling beers brewed using some of these new varieties (sadly there wasn’t opportunity to try all 4000) and having chance to give feedback on them, we headed to Varietal brewery & taproom for lunch. This was our host Melissa’s husband’s brewery, where we had excellent burgers and beers, including an Imperial Stout for pudding.

Shorthead Brewing was our destination for the evening, just north of Yakima in an area called Tasker – this was my favourite brewery of the trip, a Western saloon style bar full of rugged regulars, built in an old fruit processing plant. We then moved on to Nomad for the farewell dinner of the trip, where we were treated to an absolutely superb tasting menu. A real highlight and a fitting way to round off an amazing few days.  

All too soon it was time to depart Yakima, embarking on a 32-hour journey home via Hood River and Grassland BBQ, plus a final brewery trip to Ferment Brewing, which wasn’t on the official agenda, but when in America…! And finally, back to Portland to say our goodbyes.

Thank you to the whole Barth Haas X and John I Haas teams for inviting us on the trip and for their impeccable, generous hospitality – it was an honour and a privilege to be a part of, assessing and choosing the hops which will be used by the Barth Haas customers throughout Europe.”