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Together FWD - this is how we brew the beer of the future!
We love to try things out. New flavors, different techniques, crazy ideas. That's why we participate in Yakima Chief Hops' FWD program: an international innovation project in which a handful of breweries gain access to hop varieties that no one else has used yet.
Every year we travel to the Yakima Valley in Washington State (USA) to select our hops that we will brew our beers with the following year. We smell, feel and taste the hops until we find exactly what we are looking for. And because we have been doing this for so long and have now built up a great relationship with Yakima – Ronald does a duet with the CEO of Yakima Chiefs every year in the Karaoke Bar – we have been part of Yakima Chiefs Hops' FWD program since this year – as the only brewery in the BENELUX.
What is FWD?
FWD is a kind of vanguard program from Yakima Chief Hops and Yakima Chief Ranches. A select group of breweries gets the chance to work with experimental hop varieties and innovative new products from their development program.
The idea behind FWD is simple: discover together. We brew with the new hops and/or products, provide feedback to the developers in Yakima, and help determine whether the tested hop - or product - will ever make the leap from test field to full release.
Why this fits us perfectly
We don't brew to stay within the lines. We brew to see what happens when you color just outside them. FWD fits seamlessly into this: access to hop varieties no one knows yet, trying out new combinations, learning from each batch and sometimes being surprised by what emerges.
HBC 638
As part of the FWD program, we were allowed to test HBC 638 this year. It is a hop that is reminiscent of Centennial in character, but with a more modern twist. Expect aromas of tropical fruit, citrus, rose, bubblegum, vanilla and a touch of "dank". In addition to that flavor profile, it is also disease resistant and super efficient to grow, more yield per field and less waste. Sustainable, powerful and full of character; exactly what we are looking for in a hop with a future.
HBC hop is a hop variety in development. As long as it is in the testing phase, it is called HBC (Hop Breeding Company) plus a number. Only when Yakima Chief Ranches decides that the hop will be commercially released will it be given an official name. For example, Mosaic was first called HBC 369 and this year HBC 586 was given the name Krush.
Taste it!
Did all this talk about hops, beer and innovation make you incredibly thirsty? Then you're in luck! Because the first beer brewed with an HBC hop from the FWD program is NOW available. This NEIPA with HBC638 is now (very limited) available in our webshop and at various specialty beer stores and liquor stores. It has become a silky smooth, fruity beer full of floral and citrus notes. Taste it, share what you think, and who knows, you might help determine whether HBC 638 will soon find a permanent place in the world of hops.
