Episode #232: Taste Makers with Alexander Diamandas of Yakima Chief Hops | Adjunct Series

While we talk about hops on essentially every episode, we rarely get to do a deep dive into the topic with someone who actually works in the field (get it? field? hop field? ha). Alex Diamandas of Yakima Chief Hops joined Cee and Nate to chat about his transition from home brewing to professional brewer to hop slanger, the big hack of Idaho 7 in the whirlpool, how hop extracts are actually made and the fundamental differences between Dynaboost and Hyperboost, how the HBC program works to transition new hops from the farm to the market, how you can add hops to the mash for a unique flavour, the marketing value of putting the hops on the label, how they're the only hop vendors globally that are grower-owned, how hop selection works, why harvest is the funnest and busiest time of the year, the new Cryo Fresh product for fresh hops, and the tariff situation along with the Canadian warehouse. The beers for this episode all featured Yakima Chief Hops, and all of the Town beers were supplied by Jeff Talmey of Town: Town Square Wheels Hazy IPA, Fairweather High Grade NEIPA, Town Better Days West Coast IPA, Slake Slow Slow NEIPA, Sawdust City Lone Pine West Coast IPA, Town Neon Trees Hazy IPA, Town Motel Royalty Hazy IPA, and Town Double Wheels Double NEIPA. This was fascinating - cheers! BAOS Podcast Subscribe to the podcast on YouTube | Website | Theme tune: Cee - BrewHeads