Congratulations to BSG Hops' grower Hukins Hops of Tenterden, Kent, UK, who were recently named the 2019 Hop Grower of the Year by the Taste of Kent Awards. Ross Hukins is the fourth generation of his family to grow hops at Haffenden Farms in the Weald of Kent. Founded in 1880 by Alexander Hukins, successive generations of the Hukins family have maintained a focus on growing heritage British aroma varieties.

Centuries ago, women brewsters would don their long, pointed hats, hang their broomsticks above their door to signal business was open, and get to work brewing in their large cauldrons. The visual should conjure up the image of a classic witch, complete with a cat to case away mice and vermin from the brewing ingredients. While modern brewsters have ditched the broomsticks and cauldrons, the term “witch” carries on to become a positive affirmation with the organization Witch Hunt in Minneapolis.

Over the past couple weeks, members of the BSG team have been out and about across the US and Canada collaborating with Pink Boots Society and a number of great breweries to celebrate the contributions of women to our industry.

Well-deserved congratulations to BSG Hops’ grower B&D Farms of St. Paul, Oregon on their first-place finish in the Cascade Cup! The Cascade Cup is an annual award presented by the Hop Quality Group to the top producer of Cascade hops. The winner is determined by blind judging based on appearance, aroma, and analysis. B&D Farms won their award in January during the 63rd annual American Hop Convention.

BSG Hops is excited to announce and welcome Chad Kennedy as the company’s new Hop Specialist. In this role, Chad will be responsible for a diverse range of projects including supply chain management, quality assurance, and assisting with marketing and sales initiatives. He will be based in Portland, ideally located between the company’s top US hop growing areas.

“We were in Germany as the details of the magnitude of the Camp Fire continued to come in. Ian [Ward, President of BSG] and I were together and I remember him grabbing his phone to text Ken Grossman at Sierra to ask how we can help. Ken called back shortly after and we immediately decided to free up as much malt as it would take to support their Resilience IPA concept. I think having been directly impacted by the Napa/Sonoma fires the year prior made it hit home particularly hard.” - Marc Worona, BSG’s Vice President of Sales

There’s no better way to start out the new year than with the exciting additions of brand new hops! Named after the mountainous state it was first grown in, Idaho Gem™ is the latest variety to come out of Gooding Farms in Idaho, USA.

On November 12th, RMI Analytics held the RMI Analytics Heirloom & Terroir Barley and Malt Symposium in Nuremberg, Germany to explore the histories behind various “all-but-forgotten” malt varieties. The symposium dove into the real and imagined potential of these varieties, as well as their scientific challenges, sensory characteristics, success stories, and tips and tricks; all in the context of modern brew houses and malt. Over 100 attendees from assorted countries were there representing different areas of barley breeding, farming, malting, distribution, sales, and breweries. Speakers from these diverse areas of the industry covered those topics with in-depth presentations about heirloom and terroir barley varieties.

Last week, Brew Your Own (BYO) held its first ever NanoCon, a two-day conference dedicated to education about small-scale craft breweries. The event was held in Burlington, VT, and included attendees that ranged between local small-scale craft breweries, suppliers, and those planning their nano-brewery. Attendees participated in over 30 seminars, as well as workshops, exhibitor tables, roundtable discussions, and events. Four learning tracks geared towards various small-scale brewery elements were available for attendees to learn more about some of the best practices to run their brewery on. These learning tracks included Brewery Operations, Start-Ups, Business Operations, and Sales & Marketing.