Fresh hop season is here! Hop harvest is underway and that means it’s finally time for fresh hop ales. The hops have been twining and climbing all summer long in fields around the Yakima Valley, the largest hop producing region in the world. As harvest begins, the air is filled with the aromas of hops and you can feel the excitement as brewers from around the world descend on the valley to hand-select the hops they’ll use to craft the very best beers. Best of all, as soon as the first hops are harvested, newly crafted fresh hop ales begin to flow with abundance at local breweries along the Hop Country Craft Beer Trail.

So, what’s a craft beer lover to do during fresh hop season? This is the time of year to take a trip and raise a glass to the season’s Hop Country festivities. First, if you haven’t taken a drive through the lush hop fields, do it soon because harvest is a quick, crazy process to get the hops out of the fields at the perfect time. But, there are plenty of hop country views to be had.

Taste Fresh Hop Ales at the Source

You don’t have to wait for the valley’s signature Fresh Hop Ale Festival for fresh hop experiences! Local taprooms at nearly 20 stops on the Hop Country Craft Beer Trail will be eagerly tapping kegs of fresh hop ales crafted from hops harvested just minutes away – many of which you can only taste at the tap! Breweries will announce celebratory fresh hop releases throughout harvest season, complete with live music, great food and other special activities. Watch our Fresh Hop Season events page and our craft beer and hops event calendar throughout the season for all the Hop Country happenings while you wait for festival day!

Take a Ride Through Hop Country

Reserve your spot on Little Hopper – Yakima’s craft beer bus! Sign up for their hop-on hop-off tours. Each tour travels a variety of loops from brewery to brewery. You choose your starting point and hop on and off to spend about an hour at each stop. You can also schedule group tours. What better way to celebrate fresh hop season? (They also offer winery and vineyard tours!)

Hop Country Music Festival featuring Walker Hayes

Back for the third year, the much-anticipated, two-day Hop Country Music Festival, September 13 and 14, is a must-see event. Powerhouse performers lead the lineup for a fantastic celebration in the heart of Hop Country. Grammy-nominated artist, Walker Hayes, takes the stage as Saturday’s headliner. Permalee, Sawyer Brown and Cody Beebe & The Crooks fill out the night. A standout lineup round out the rest of the weekend in Hop Country style.

Fresh Hop Ale Festival

Here in the heart of hop country, every single hop gets harvested and processed over the span of 30 crazy days in September. It all culminates with the Yakima Valley’s signature Fresh Hop Ale Festival, one of the “Top 10 Beer Festivals in The Nation!” On Saturday, October 5, more than 65 brewers from around the west and beyond head to Yakima to compete for top honors with fresh hop ales crafted specifically for the festival using only freshly harvested hops. More than 7,000 beer lovers come for a one of-a kind craft beer festival just made for them! Also enjoy wine, ciders, local flavors from food trucks and vendors, live music and fun activities. Best of all, this is a vehicle for community enrichment and positive social change, with proceeds donated to Yakima Country arts and sciences organizations.

Fresh Hop Festivities All Week Long!

In the week leading up to the festival, enjoy all sorts of hop country experiences. In \ addition to release parties, watch our calendar for other special, behind-the-scenes experiences. Take a trip for hop harvest fun and Bale Breaker Brewing Co’s Post Harvest Celebration the weekend before Fresh Hop Ale Festival. Make time to visit the American Hop Museum to learn about the history of the American hop industry, from its early days in the colonies to the Pacific Northwest and, especially, the Yakima Valley, the home of the hops.