For the love of hops
At Sierra Nevada, we’ve always loved hops. In fact, our love of hops was what set us apart from the mainstream beer of the 1980s. Back then, with fewer than fifty American breweries in existence, beer was dominated by light, low-flavor domestic lagers.
But fascinated by the unique flavor and aroma of Cascade hops, our founder Ken Grossman brewed his Pale Ale with bold and distinctive hop character.
“Ninety percent of people hated it,” Ken said famously. “But the ten percent who loved it—loved it.”
Thus, the craft beer hop revolution began. Four decades and thousands of breweries later, hop-forward flavors dominate the beer aisle. But though we’ve been brewing with hops for years, we don’t rest on laurels; the hop innovation can’t stop. Thanks to our relationships with growers like Crosby Hops, it doesn’t have to.
Based in Willamette Valley, Oregon, Crosby Hops is a fifth-generation family farm growing hops that show up in our most treasured beers—like Celebration Fresh Hop IPA. Though his family has been in the hop game for 126 years (!), owner Blake Crosby is always looking ahead.
“We know we need to keep pushing the ball forward,” he says.
Enter CGX NUVO: Crosby’s latest innovation and the star of Friends of the Family Crosby Wet Hop Double IPA. Inspired by the olive oil concept of “olio nuevo,” the first and freshest oil of the season, Crosby aims to capture the purest and most expressive hop oils from each crop season with CGX NUVO.
To do so, the Crosby team harvests hops at the peak of freshness and then rushes them into their facility. There, the hops undergo a patented cryogenic process to lock in those harvest‑fresh aromas and flavors. By preserving the hops in this way, CGX NUVO provides up to three times the lupulin concentration of whole-leaf fresh hops alone.
“The hop flavor ends up as fresh and true-to-type as possible,” says Blake.
Our brewing team agrees. “The CGX NUVO just amplifies everything,” says our Innovation Manager Isaiah Mangold. “It has massive hop character that truly pushes the flavor and aroma to the next level.”
Bursting with fresh, green hop flavors and aromas of citrus, melon, and pine, this Double IPA is a true taste of the harvest.
Hop innovations like this are supported by the close relationship between farmers like Crosby and brewers like us. And thanks to Crosby’s longstanding family ownership, it’s not just a love of hops that brings us together, but shared values.
“My family made the trek to Willamette Valley on the Oregon Trail in the 1800s,” Blake explains. The Crosbys have been growing hops there ever since. “So, the roots really do run deep.”
For Blake, though, the relationship goes deeper. Like Ken, Blake took a different approach to his industry than the generations before him. Traditionally, hop farmers work with brokers who, in turn, sell to brewers like Sierra Nevada.
But after attending an inspiring hop conference in 2009, Blake wondered what his business might look like if he worked with brewers directly. A direct relationship could allow Crosby to grow more specialized varieties, Blake realized, meaning more options for flavor and aroma. With that risk and freedom, Crosby would be able to better prioritize innovation.
“I didn’t fully appreciate it at the time, but it was a pretty bold move,” says Blake. “Definitely a burn the boats moment.”
Fresh out of college and beaming with new ideas, Blake had to convince his parents, who still served as owners at the time. “I have a lot of respect and admiration for my mother and father for making that bet on me.”
Make the bet they did, and a few years later, Blake changed the course of Crosby Hops, turning it into a brewer-direct farm. The new operation started in a single-wide trailer in the middle of a hop field. But word soon spread, and in 2013, Ken Grossman came for a visit.
“It was pretty intimidating,” Blake admits. “When you’re trying to build your career, you dream about working with the best in the field. And I don’t think it’s arguable that Sierra Nevada is the best in craft beer.”
Turns out, Blake didn’t need to worry. Ken and the team loved the hops and appreciated Blake’s hands-on approach, which was not unlike Ken’s approach to beer.
“Growing up, I heard stories of Ken driving a station wagon up to Washington and Oregon in the early days to buy a bale of hops,” says Blake.
Though true, the practice was unheard of in the 1980s. But hops were important to Ken, who built his brewery on a “purest ingredients” promise. To capture the hop signature he was after, Ken wanted to pick out the hops himself.
Today, hop selection is a busy but beloved time in craft beer when thousands of brewers descend upon the Pacific Northwest to choose hops.
“We have a very strong industry that’s built on the shoulders of people like Ken Grossman,” says Blake. “The Grossman family is so genuinely interested in and excited about hops. That resonates with us. The Sierra Nevada–Crosby relationship means the world to me.”
That relationship grows even stronger as we support each other with innovations in the field and the brewhouse.
“It’s an honor to do something like Friends of the Family, and it goes beyond business for me,” says Blake. “I can’t think of a better name for the program.”
It’s safe to say the feeling is mutual. Let’s raise a glass and celebrate Friends of the Family with Crosby Wet Hop Double IPA!
