Yakima Chief Hops (YCH) is pleased to announce that Hop Breeding Company (HBC) is officially commercializing HBC 586, now known as Krush™! Brewers can now utilize Krush with the confidence of knowing that the beloved variety is here to stay.

When a hop variety goes through the experimental breeding pipeline and transitions into commercialization status, it promises brewers long-term availability. Jason Perrault, the CEO and Head Hop breeder at Yakima Chief Ranches (YCR) has been around long enough to see several varieties transition to a commercial brand. “Some hops you have to experience to understand,” he says of Krush. “It delivers a big tropical and fruit punchiness without being overpowering. As a breeder, I consider this hop a rarity and believe beer drinker response will be overwhelmingly positive.”

Lending notes of peach, mango, mixed berry, and guava, Krush can be highly impactful as a stand-alone hop addition or used to punch up the tropical and citrus characters of any blend. “Not every variety translates so clearly from raw hop aroma to finished beer, but Krush bursts with peach, mango, citrus, and tropical notes at harvest and adds a pop of these same flavors to every Krush beer I’ve tasted,” says YCH’s Sr. Sensory Manager, Tiffany Pitra, noting that this variety has been a long-time favorite in the sensory lab. “While HBC 586 already has a loyal following, I hope the ‘official’ release of Krush inspires even more beers built around this juicy hop. The entire YCH sensory team is stoked that Krush™ has finally earned her name!”

Thanks to those tropical, citrus, and stone fruit qualities, Krush is a fantastic choice for brewers looking to get a Southern Hemisphere hop profile. Casey Harris, Brewmaster, Chief Operating Officer, and Founder of Topa Topa Brewing Company in Ventura, California found Krush to be a great solution for the logistical issues they encountered with other hops. “We were rotating between our North American Citra® and Simcoe®, and then waiting for our Southern Hemisphere hops,” he says of hop selection for Chief Peak, their flagship IPA. “Switching to 586 was a nice way to get into a rhythm where everything came out of the Pacific Northwest, streamlining our supply chain and sourcing process.”

Changing an important hop in a flagship IPA is no small undertaking, especially for a production brewery. Topa Topa’s process was incremental, involving multiple trials and different percentages over about a year. When the new recipe was finalized, they found that the beer came off as a cleaner version of the original recipe, with loyal taproom customers and sensory panelists assuming it was just a fresher version of their standard beer. “It was a huge transition for us, but very fruitful,” says Harris. Chief Peak recently won a bronze medal in the International Pale Ale category at the World Beer Cup. “2024 is the year of 586. It seems to have found its way into all of our recipes this year,” he laughs.

Mike LaRosa, Partner and Director of Brewing Operations at New Trail Brewing in Pennsylvania, says they started using Krush a few years ago. “We immediately fell in love with the tropical properties it gave off.” New Trail pairs Krush with ‘the usual suspects’ (Citra® and Mosaic®) as an accent hop. LaRosa notes that it can be paired with any fruit-forward hop for a dense, expressive pineapple and citrus character. The team at New Trail looks forward to seeing the hop commercialized, “IPA consumers are always interested in what is new in hops, we look forward to adding a great name to our marketing,” he says.

From the YCH and YCR teams, we thank all the brewers whose dedication to this variety made commercialization possible! We are excited to see HBC 586 evolve into Krush. To start brewing with Krush, contact your sales rep or hops@yakimachief.com.