The Tasting Panel magazine

December 2017

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december 2017  /  the tasting panel  /  89 I n my former life as a winemaker, I spent considerable time navigating some of the more desolate highways that crisscross eastern Washington State. Within the expanse of this dramatic landscape, pockmarked and carved out by the Missoula Floods, I regularly visited the vineyards where I held long-standing contracts for grapes. Those visits always increased in frequency as the harvest neared. Richly-fruited Cabernet from Walla Walla Valley and inky Syrah from the sandy plateaus that form the Wahluke Slope AVA were among my routine stops. My farthest-flung contract was in Yakima Valley, where we'd harvest Riesling in mid-November from a small hillside vineyard. By the time we picked the fruit, the already-desiccated berries were more than ready to fall off the rachis. And at some point during these collective memories, I had passed by tidy plots of verdant hops yards, their willowy bines reaching ever upward as if exalting the late summer sun. The recollection forms a point of reference along with scrubby pasture land dotted with Black Angus cattle and the steel, arching spines of center pivots—all part of Yakima Valley's fertile agricultural paysage. With more than 13,000 acres under vine, Yakima Valley boasts the largest concentration of wineries and vineyards in Washington State. For the wine industry profes- sional, this fact comes as no surprise; it's also the state's oldest AVA. What is perhaps less known is that the humble hop has been cultivated in the region almost as long as grapes have burrowed roots into its well-drained silt-loam soils, with the first plantings dating as far back as the 1880s. "Yakima Valley is the Napa Valley of hops," explained Bjorn Trowery, Director of External Communications for Heineken USA, as we waited to rendezvous with the team from Hopsteiner Farms. I would later learn that Heineken sources all of its hops for Heineken Light from Yakima Valley— and that more than 75 percent of the total hop acreage in the United States is located within the valley's borders. Hops farming is an industry that generates a staggering $498 million per year in revenue. Last year, hops production increased by 11 percent in the U.S. overall and encompassed nearly 39,000 acres in Washington State, outpacing Germany. After walking through hop yards of fragrant Denali and Lemon Drop cultivars, we visit a neighboring ranch to watch one of Hopsteiner's custom- built, fire-engine-red combines in action. As it made its way up the row, a worker perched at the top of the machine deftly plucked flower-laden bines from the support wire and fed them into the combine. Back at Hopsteiner's new processing plant, we were greeted by a wave of intense aromas: a clean, citrusy-bordering-on- piney smell that's as unmistakable as it is pleasant. Preserving the raw hops' heady bou- quet is part of the process; the cones are gently drying in massive concrete kilns before they're piled high on cool- ing floors, which help maintain their characteristic chartreuse color and essential oils. While the team at Hopsteiner is heavily invested in its breeding program and ongoing research, including genome mapping, the Cascade hop is one of the most popular and enduring varieties in their program. Developed at Oregon State University and released as an American aroma variety in 1971, Cascade is a cross between the English Fuggle and Russian hop Serebrianka. Its distinctive flavor profile is thought to have sparked the craft brewing movement in the Pacific Northwest, and it's also what distinguishes Heineken Light from other beers in the premium light beer category. "We didn't want to sacrifice flavor, and we've found that the Cascade hops give us this clean, citrusy, lightly floral, almost tropical profile," Trowery said. In addition to updating the brand's packaging, Heineken added the Cascade hop in 2013—a shift that endowed this crisp pale lager with more perceptible body, as well as a more intense IPA-like flavor profile and finish. Voted "Best Tasting Low Calorie Lager" winner at the 2016 World Beer Championships, it's a brand that's in no danger of going out of style. At 3.3 percent alcohol with just 99 calories, Heineken Light has long been regarded as the consummate choice for a leisurely daytime occasion. Its lower alcohol content makes it a refreshing tipple for an afternoon spent lounging poolside, and it's also enduringly popu- lar at beer-focused sports bars with ample outdoor seating. For those of us in the U.S., there's something refreshing about a 150-year-old Dutch brewing giant embracing the hop responsible for transporting the Pacific Northwest to the forefront of the craft beer industry. It seems that kindred innovators can't help but elevate—or simply raise a glass to—each other's accomplishments. After drying in the kilns, the hops are piled high on cooling floors, which help maintain their characteristic chartreuse color and essential oils. Steam rises from a massive concrete hop kiln that is heated from below.

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