Our Philosophy
Brewers Supply Group offers a wide range of domestic
and imported hops. Our hops are hand selected for quality
by experts, who have a combined experience of over forty
years in the hop industry. The drastic decline in the
number of growers operating in the Yakima Valley will
ultimately lead to less choice in varieties and quality.
It is our philosophy, therefore, to buy only the very
best quality from the best growers and to give the grower
a sustainable return on his crop. Providing quality
hops to the brewer doesn't just mean buying the best
hops from the grower, good processing and packaging
is also extremely important. We operate our own pelleting
facility to maintain quality control and ensure that
our hop pellets keep the fresh character of our whole
cone hops. We extend this philosophy to our English,
German, Czech and European varieties. We buy from the
best growers and import the whole bales using cold transit
routes and process here in the US where the equipment
and storage conditions are far superior to those in
Europe and the UK. Because of our distribution points
across the US we are able to offer hops on contract
or spot purchase from our warehouses, each of which
are equipped with cold storage facilities.
Our division has one large advantage, we are not owned
by hop farmers, hence we can choose the hop farmers
we are buying from and make sure they supply the best
quality hops!
Forward Contracting
We encourage brewers, both small and large, to contract
forward for their requirements. This provides some stability
in the market for all in the supply chain. The international
hop market has overproduced hops for ten years, which
has contributed to low pricing and the decline of the
amount of hop farmers. We have now, however, entered
an era of reduced production of hops worldwide and,
as a consequence, a very limited amount of spot hops
being available.
Many craft brewers have therefore become more acutely
aware that there is a genuine need to contract for at
least one year's supply of hops as some aroma varieties
are already sold out shortly after harvest. The larger
craft breweries have now wisely adopted a contracting
philosophy of 2 to 3 years ahead.
By contracting a given variety forward the hop dealer
can make firm forecasts to the growers who will then
make the investment in time and materials to ensure
that his product is available and of good quality. The
large brewers will continue to drive the demand curve
for any given variety. So if craft brewers favor a hop
which is in decline, contracting is essential to encourage
the grower to continue production. New or trend driven
varieties tend to become short so contracting becomes
a way of safeguarding supply. We will, of course, do
our best to serve the spot buyer with any requirement
he or she may have, but we can not guarantee that supply.
We will, at time of harvest, (usually second week of
September) offer a selection service in Yakima. Brewers
may visit and examine the new harvest hops and discuss
their needs. Please contact us in the summer in order
to book an appointment.
Brewers Supply Group Hop Division:
P.O. Box 1401
Yakima, WA 98907
e-mail: smcgree@rahr.com |
