Yakima, long recognized as the hop capital of America, is suddenly a legitimate beer touring destination. A few years ago, breweries were far and few between, but now there are a number of breweries within Yakima city limits and more than a dozen between Naches and Prosser. Add one more to the list. This Saturday and Sunday, June 9th and 10th, Single Hill Brewing Company opens its taproom in downtown Yakima.
Other breweries to open in the Yakima Valley within the past couple years include Varietal Beer Company in Sunnyside, Cowiche Creek Brewing in Cowiche, and Bron Yr Aur Brewing in Naches. In Yakima itself, Wandering Hop Brewing and Valley Brewing opened last year.
“Our vision is to become a local destination where outstanding beer gathers people from every corner of the valley to work, play, create and grow,” said Ty Paxton, one of the owners of Single Hill Brewing, who brings years of experience as a marketing professional to the table.
At the taproom, Single Hill Brewing will offer its own beers alongside collaboration beers, including a beer brewed with Bale Breaker Brewing, which gets tapped on Friday, June 8th at Bale Breaker’s taproom in Moxee.
Zach Turner, the other owner, is a beer industry professional that spent time working in beer quality control at Odell Brewing in Fort Collins, Colorado and also in hop quality at YCH Hops in Yakima.
“Yakima’s farms make it a truly amazing place to brew beer,” says Turner. “We’re out to turn the flavors of the valley— hops and fruit—into outstanding beers that will please drinkers new to craft beer and create a destination for top brewers who descend on Yakima every hop harvest.”
So what about the name? Why Single Hill? The brewery’s founders wanted a name that honored the importance of hops as a key ingredient in beer. In particular, they wanted to focus on the origin of that ingredient. The term single hill refers to a single, experimental hop plant. That single hill may propagate an entire new variety.
Every hop variety that you love originated as a single hill: one solitary hop plant out there, all alone in the field, with a curious farmer looking at it and saying, “Wonder if it’ll be any good?” That might be romanticizing the process, but it illustrates the point.
Single Hill Brewing Company says they’ll focus on brewing a reliable lineup of four or five beers plus various seasonal beers that please many palates, not just the hop heads. Also, to satisfy Turner’s passion for experimentation, they’ll make the brewery an independent place for promoting local beer education and the advancement of brewing science. They will work with the local hop farmers and other brewers to assess new hop varieties and the effects of place on hop flavor.
Paxton and Turner have partnered with local taco truck, 5 Salsas who will be on site every day the brewery is open. “We also have been working on plans for delivery from one of our favorite local restaurants,” said Paxton.
The grand opening of Single Hill Brewing Company is this Saturday and Sunday from 12:00pm to 9:00pm. For updates, visit the website at http://singlehillbrewing.com.
Single Hill Brewing
102 N Naches Ave
Yakima, WA 98901
Great piece, Kendall! Ty Paxton happens to be my son-in-law and these guys have really created something special. Can’t wait for you to try the beer. Maybe I’ll see you there!