September, 2022
Unbeknownst to me, unplanned by me, this 2022 camping trip to the Yakima Valley coincided with the very center, the heart, the core of the hop harvesting season in the Yakima Valley. I saw trucks full of hops EVERYWHERE, going all manner of which-way directions. The hop fields are owned by many different people and organizations … hops from each field will be taken to their own kiln for processing. A field in the south might take their harvest to a kiln in the north. Or a field in the west might take their hops to the south. Or a field in the south might take their hops to a kiln in the east. Etc.
The other day, the woman in the American Hop Museum told me where there might be some real live hop harvesting going on hereabouts. It wasn’t on a main road … it was on a side road … not a known tourist road. But she knew her stuff. She was born and raised here. She told me she was half Indian and half Hispanic. She knew everyone in town. Her daughter was in the local high school band and was a singer known very well locally. The woman told me about the history of this area that isn’t on any website I can find. She told me about her parents, and their parents, and lots of stories about lots of people here. I wish I’d recorded what she told me … but, in truth, in the end, I’m glad I didn’t record it. What we talked about was between the two of us … her life and my life. When I left that Hop Museum, we gave each other a big hug and said “I love you” to each other. I wish more human beings could connect like that.
The next morning, I took her advice and headed down that back road she had told me about, all while looking for some real live hop harvesting. I almost drove into a ditch pulling over!!! She was right on!! Here they are!
In the video below, in under the hop vines, there’s a yellow truck with a big box bed in the back. Right behind that truck (inches behind!) is a separate tractor/machine that cuts the hops off of the top wires/ropes so that the hop vines drop down into the box of the truck. Because the driver of the truck can’t see a dang thing (she/he is driving through solid hop plants), there’s always someone walking off to the side that signals the driver of the truck … speed up, slow down, stop, etc. [Note: sorry about the cars and trucks whizzing past where I was parked on the opposite side of the road. I really truly was almost in the ditch.] I was amazed how many hop vines fit into one of those trucks! Every once in a while, they lowered that cutting apparatus in order to pack the vines into the truck a bit tighter. And then at the end, the blue cutting machine packed the truck one last time and then moved backwards to let the truck move forward. And then, at the very end of the video, the blue cutting tractor/device moved around to another row of hops in order to cut hops into another truck, an empty truck, truck #23, that was already parked inside the rows of hops. And off they went on another row.
How impressive. I learned a lot from watching this process and these people. And, from past experience, when I learn a lot about something, I’ve learned that there’s likely a lot more to learn. So I stayed and watched and learned more.
The fellow on top of the truck in the photo below had just had his truck loaded with hops harvested from this field. He was packing the hops down into the truck even harder to keep them from blowing out as he drove out onto roads on his way to a processing kiln.
Just as he was finishing, another truck (#16) pulled in … empty … ready to be refilled.
And here’s that truck (#16) in the photo below getting ready to line up with the harvesting machine.
Photo below, truck #16 lined up … and harvesting begins for that truck.
The hop fields are huge; they go on as far as the eye can see. The video below shows one field of hops yet to be harvested … then another field that has been harvested, but in behind that field there is yet another field that has not been harvested. And these fields are a TINY portion of the total acreage of hop fields hereabouts.
And then … as one of the loaded hop trucks pulled out onto the road, I swung my big white truck around and pulled out onto the road too, and followed this one hop truck to see where it went.
I followed that truck for at least 20 minutes, as it turned onto other roads, and wound around a few hills, and passed by more hop fields and corn fields and orchards. Eventually, the truck pulled into CLS Farms, a hop processing plant north of Toppenish and east of Yakima. Moxee … now there’s an interesting name for a town. 🙂
The photo below shows a truck that is being loaded with the residual leaves, stems, and vines that will be taken back to the fields to feed the ground for next year’s crop.
But in the photo below, you can see that a truck has just arrived with a fresh harvest of hop vines.
The vines are manually attached to the moving apparatus above the box/bed of the truck. That apparatus takes the vines to a machine that separates the flowers from the rest of the vine … the flowers are taken to the kiln for heating/drying, then cooling, then more processing, and eventually baling to be shipped to brewers all over the world.
I couldn’t get inside the buildings to see all those processes, but there are a number of videos online about the processes. Here’s one video taken down in Oregon State … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L-xy_fYRvw.
And then, when I’d seen all I could see at this processing plant, I headed back out on the road, back towards my campsite and back towards Towhee the Trailer.
But as I drove out that road, here came a whole line of trucks filled with hop vines. Coming in for processing.
A little further down the road was this lovely home. Couldn’t resist taking a photo.
With it’s wonderful old wooden barn.
Finally, back in the campground and back at my campsite, I jumped out of the truck and laid out some hop vines and flowers on the picnic table at my campsite. No, I hadn’t taken any of the vines from the processing plant. I had simply stopped by the side of the road and picked them up out of the ditch where they’d blown off of passing hop trucks.
These plants smelled good, a little sweet. And they were soft to the touch. (Click on the photos to enlarge them.)
A fun and fascinating day.
One thing I didn’t mention was that pretty much every driver of every hop truck waved to me. And I waved back. Even when I wasn’t taking photos or videos, they were so courteous and friendly. Just really nice people.
As much as I’ve learned, I bet there’s lots more to the science and art of growing hops, harvesting them, processing them, and using them to enhance beer and other beverages. But I sure learned a lot on this trip. Here’s to beer! 🙂
I’m the first to comment! I love that second-to-the-last photo. The closeup of the hop flower. I wish I could hold one. You say it smells sweet. It looks like it feels so soft. Tell us how it felt to hold it, ok?
Oh yes it was soft and moist. It felt rich and ripe and it smelled sweet. I thought about removing the “leaves” from the flower, the layers, but I just didn’t want to tear it apart. In the end, I gathered up all of the vines and leaves and flowers I had collected and then, the next day, I put them on the ground in a hops field that had already been harvested. Hopefully, my little contribution will help next year’s crop. 🙂
This was soooooooo interesting. There are hops being grown up in the little finger of Michigan, in amongst the cherry and apple orchards. I don’t think they are as mature as the fields you saw, because I’ve never seen them full of plants, just the poles and wire. I wonder how long it takes to get vines all the way up to the top. AND now that I think about that…how do they get the vines all the way up there? They must restring rope or wire every year since they cut it off when they harvest?
Ah, a competitive hop field! Once the hop vines become fully grown, they get harvested each year and then the new vine grows up to the top each year, no problem. But I don’t know how long a brand new rootstock or rhizome takes to become mature. On the other hand, the hop field will be without any plants for most of the year, until spring growth starts from bare dirt, and then they are cut down in September. Best time to take a look is in late August or early September, that’s when the plants will be as fully grown as possible that year. And yes, they restring the rope every year. What a process!
I’ve seen hops growing but that’s about all I know. I see the fields empty during the winter so I’d guess they have to be replanted each spring or maybe the rootstock (are they rhizomes?) simply grows back each spring. Do you know Ann? Love the closeup of the flower, and the videos, this was great.
Yes, they grow back every year. In fact, I read that the rhizomes multiply and so have to be separated every 3-4 years … and a new field is planted with the new rhizomes while the old field simply continues on. Thanks Judy. 🙂
I’m looking at Ann’s photos from her Hop Museum blog post and see photos of young women tying down new strings and maybe planting hops or just pegging the strings right in the middle of the hop rootstock so the vine can grow up the new string. Where did I see here that when those strings are cut to allow the vine to fall into the trucks that the strings fall in there too, and those coconut fiber strings will be placed in the fields to rot along with the old vines and leaves from each year’s harvest. So maybe just new strings need to be pegged in the ground and then attached to the heavy cords up above each year? Oh, wait, maybe I saw that on the Oregon video … gonna go look again. 🙂
Right on, David. Yes, everyone go watch that Oregon video in the previous post. They do things a bit differently in Oregon than they do in Washington but the basics are the same. David is absolutely correct.
Yes, they are rhizomes so actually need to be divided every 3 or 4 years. And new strings pegged into the ground and tied up top every year. The vine then starts all over every spring, starts growing up from the rhizome and gets clear up that string, clear up to the top every year. Then in September/October, they harvest and cut it all down right down to the dirt and then it starts all over again. I haven’t been able to get good history about how this started in Washington State and how it got to be such a HUGE crop here. It is the second largest production of hops in the world!
Pat, you could write this blog post! Thank you! Sure appreciate the details that you fill in, that I didn’t include. Hmmm, good question about the history of how hop production got started here in Washington. More research for me!
You are terribly good at being in the right place and at the right time. This was most interesting. I am traveling to Europe with my son next year and will visit Germany. I will look for hops!
Thank you, Henry. I certainly was “in the right place at the right time” for this hop harvesting. It was brilliant, as you folks would say. 🙂 Have a wonderful trip to Europe next year. If you find hops, please let us know.
Don’t know anything about hops. Loved all of this. I like the friendly people you meet/describe. And the town name Moxee … man, I’m smart, I’m hip, I got moxee! 🙂
Ha! Indeed, Tim, we all got moxee! 🙂
On the other hand, the word “moxee” was a native Sahaptin tribe word for “edible root” and that’s where the name of this town came from. So, if you eat edible roots (beets, carrots, yams, parsnips, turnips, rhutabagas, garlic, radishes, onions, sweet potatoes, potatoes, etc … then you bet, you got moxee. 🙂
Ok, now a trip down to Yakima in the fall is on our list! Keep it coming, Ann, we won’t have to plan trips for years, we’ll just follow you! 🙂
Janey
Come on down!! 🙂 One of these days, we really do have to go camping to the same place and meet each other.
Fascinating!
Thanks! 🙂
Thanks for picking up those samples from a ditch and showing them to us. Fresh hop flowers. I had no idea that Washington State was the second largest producer of hops in the world. Makes me wonder what else is out there that I don’t know anything about. Being able to travel and talk with local folks, or being able to read travel blogs like this one, is really great. Thank you.
Me too, Joe. I wonder about things that are out there in the world that are fascinating but that I know nothing about too. I’m so blessed to be able to travel with this trailer and see things, learn things, meet people. I’m glad you’re along for the journey. 🙂