Water & Soil

Why would hops grow in what's essentially a high desert? Because while the valley gets almost no rain, it does get plenty of water from the mountains. Regional sources put annual rainfall at only around 200 to 250 millimeters, far less than in Bavaria or England.

Irrigation saved the day for agriculture here. Farms draw their water from the Yakima River and the canal network operated by the federal Bureau of Reclamation. That means the hops get exactly as much water as growers measure out, and not a drop more.

This turns out to be an advantage. Hops grown in humid regions are more prone to fungal disease, but in this dry valley the cones stay healthier. Add in hot, sunny days and cool nights, and at roughly 46 degrees north latitude, long summer daylight hours too.

The soil here is considered mineral-rich. According to descriptions from regional hop merchants, volcanic ash is even part of the mix. Such loose, deep soils let hop roots grow far down into the earth.

As for the beer itself, the tap or well water doesn't need to be anything special. Many American brewers adjust their water according to their own recipe: calcium sulfate (gypsum) makes an IPA's bitterness drier and sharper, while calcium chloride plays up the roundness of the malt.

Hops here are stored less in cellars than in cold storage warehouses. Once processed into pellets, which are pressed, dried hop cones, they're sealed airtight and kept cold so their oils don't escape. In the Yakima Valley, it's the hops that need a proper cellar more than the beer does.