RipeLocker Supplies Fresh Hops to the Craft-Brewing Industry

All brewers know that hop cones are extremely perishable and begin to deteriorate the moment they are harvested. In the past, to obtain fresh hops, brewers were forced to collect freshly picked hops from hop farms and transport them directly to the brewery, where—if they timed things right—there was a beer waiting for its hop additions.

RipeLocker, the innovative leader in post-harvest low-pressure vacuum technology, offers a solution to that frenetic activity of hop harvest by keeping hops at 32°F (0°C) while using low pressure and oxygen. The pallet-sized chambers have an internal volume of 750 liters and can hold 150 to 200 pounds of fresh hops, depending on the cone size. Growers fill bags with their hops and load them into a RipeLocker, slowing the respiration and senescence. This delays the aging process, allowing breweries to receive the hops they want at a specific time without impacting the quality. Through this technology, RipeLocker adds value, opening a world full of opportunities for fresh-hop providers and brewers.

From the Growers Perspective

Last year, using RipeLocker’s technology, Oasis Fresh Hop Farms in Washington stored and sent 4,134 pounds of fresh hops across the continental United States with more than 50 percent of those hops going to Tree House Brewing in Charlton, Massachusetts. In addition, Mill 95 Farms in Idaho sent another 800 pounds.

“Knowing we are putting a top quality, perfectly fresh product out to brewers that will last up to 60 days helps us financially as a farm and provides the best-of-the-best product without the hassle,” says Tyler Sabin, hops manager, Oasis Fresh Hop Farms.

“RipeLocker has expanded the capabilities of Mill 95 to offer Idaho fresh hops to breweries across the United States and internationally. Previously, the lack of appropriate transportation options paired with the volatility of fresh hops limited the ability to get high-quality fresh hops to breweries outside of the five-hour radius of the Idaho hop-growing region,” says Amaya Aguirre-Landa, marketing and communications manager for Mill 95.

Fresh . . . and Convenient

Now, RipeLocker has partnered with Yakima Chief Hops, a world-wide hop supplier, ensuring brewers have access to fresh hops six to eight weeks longer than expected. This crucial agreement will enable YCH to deliver fresh hops to breweries, regardless of the distance between growers and brewers. This partnership will open new opportunities for brewers to experiment with fresh hops, something Bryan Pierce, chief sales and marketing officer at YCH, looks forward to facilitating. He says, “Brewers can get a pallet of fresh Simcoe hops, then wait until their Mosaic is harvested, without worrying about transit time and storage.”

To kick off this new partnership, YCH has scheduled two cross-country routes to serve brewing communities otherwise disconnected from access to fresh hops from the Pacific Northwest. The southwestern route will make stops to service breweries such as Highland Park in Los Angeles, Coronado in San Diego, Wren House in Phoenix, and Pinthouse in Austin. The eastern route will deliver fresh hops to Burial in Asheville, North Carolina, Bearded Iris in Nashville, Tennessee, and The Veil Brewing, in Richmond, Virginia.

From the Brewer’s Perspective

“We’ll never get fresh hops without RipeLocker again,” says Dylan Kelly, Tree House’s production manager. See how Tree House is taking wet-hop beers to the next level:

Embedded content: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6c6oA89PTM

By leveraging RipeLocker’s cutting-edge storage solution, breweries are using exceptional quality ingredients and preserving the distinctive aroma and taste that define fresh-hop brews. In addition to Tree House Brewing, breweries such as Ghostfish Brewing and Jellyfish Brewing in Seattle, Coronado Brewing, Harland Brewing, and Barebottle Brewing in California, Roadhouse Brewing in Wyoming, and HUDL Brewing in Las Vegas are adopting RipeLocker’s technology in preserving quality fresh hops to ensure they can offer their customers beers with those unique fresh-hop flavors and aromas long after the traditional season concludes.

Embedded content: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxFgCLXiF4A

“Seeing the vivid, emerald-green depth of the RipeLocker ‘fresh’ hops was astounding. Despite being picked seven days earlier, they looked—and smelled—better than fresh hops we received within 12 hours of being harvested,” says Lester Koga, cofounder of Barebottle Brewing Company.

Max Shafer, brewmaster at Roadhouse Brewing says, “We love using hops from RipeLockers because it gives us the chance to extend our wet-hopped brewing season and to mix up varieties that usually cannot be brewed with at the same time because of various varieties’ pick windows.”

RipeLockers provide flexibility and convenience through preservation. They emphasize prolonging freshness, expanding seasonal offerings, and providing more delivery possibilities through a sustainable and value-added system. RipeLocker’s commitment to preserving the essence of the harvest, combined with the dedication of hop growers and craft brewers, has ushered in new market opportunities for the brewing industry. The partnership among RipeLocker, hop growers, and visionary brewers exemplifies the spirit of collaboration and ingenuity that defines the future of the craft-beer landscape.

About RipeLocker

RipeLocker, Inc. has patented a radical innovation designed to disrupt existing post-harvest technologies and processes of preserving the life and freshness of perishables. Our dynamic, low-atmosphere chambers are used for storing and shipping fresh produce and flowers to extend their after-harvest life by weeks, often months. When RipeLocker chambers are used, shippers and retailers reduce food loss and consumers benefit from a better taste and longer shelf-life. RipeLocker, founded in 2016 and based in Seattle, is a science-based and data-driven company. We continue to conduct efficacy trials of our RipeLocker chambers for a variety of different crops with the largest growers in the world. For more information, visit www.ripelocker.com.