(July 16, 2024)—ST. PAUL, Ore. – Craft brewing has experienced many shake-ups over the past years, but one Pacific Northwest highlight continues to be the excitement surrounding hop harvest and fresh-hopped beers.

“Brewers and their customers continue to seek out and appreciate the local connection to high-quality ingredients,” says Ben Coleman, president and co-owner of Coleman Agriculture. “We feel this is why fresh hop beers are growing in popularity among the craft brewing community. For the past decade, we’ve welcomed brewers to our farms to pick up fresh hops.”

Coleman Agriculture is Oregon’s largest hop grower and is managed by multiple generations of the Coleman family. Hop growers invest big budgets in hop dryers to preserve and ship hops to breweries across the country, Coleman Agriculture is simultaneously seeing rising demand from area breweries for fresh hops picked straight from the bine. With four different hop farms and harvest locations throughout the mid-Willamette Valley, brewers have access to 16 varieties of locally grown, high-quality Coleman Hops. At times, Coleman farms might be picking different varieties, so brewers could potentially have the unique opportunity to pick up different hop varieties on the same day.

Coleman Fresh Hop details can be found online at www.colemanag.com/fresh-hops

How Fresh Hop Harvesting Works:

• Fresh hop harvest typically takes place in the cool mornings when hop bines, which average 18 feet in height, are cut down from the fields and placed on a truck bed.
• A picking machine strips the hop cones from the bine and stems (the cones are what are used in the brewing process).
• Brewers come directly to the farm and fill up cloth bags with fresh, un-kilned hop cones, which are then taken directly back to the brewery and used within 24 hours.
• Beers crafted with fresh hops are featured at numerous area festivals beginning in mid-September.

Brewers crafting award-winning beer with Oregon-grown Coleman fresh hops include:
Best of Craft Beer Awards 2023 – Sunriver Brewing, Deschutes Brewery, Trap Door (WA), Boneyard Beer, Rueben’s Brews (WA), Stormbreaker, Grains of Wrath (WA), Moonraker (CA), Threshold Brewing.
Oregon Beer Awards 2023 – Ruse Brewing, Sunriver Brewing, Von Ebert.

Media Opportunities:

Interested in coming to the farm to capture photos or video of the fresh hop harvest?
Harvest takes place from mid-August thru mid-September.
Please contact Ivy Hover, Coleman’s Marketing Coordinator, to arrange a visit:
ivy@colemanag.com / cel: 503-269-3239

Arrangements can be made at the following farm sites:

• Homeplace Farm – 4569 Mahony Rd NE, St. Paul, OR
• Greenleaf Hop Farm – 15411 River Rd, St. Paul, OR
• Alluvial Hop Farm – 3590 Wigrich Rd, Independence, OR
• Angel Farm – 8601 Humpert Ln NE, Mt, Angel, OR

About Coleman Agriculture:

Guided by the grit and determination of Oregon pioneers, Coleman Agriculture has expanded across much of the Willamette Valley. Cultivating more than 6,000 acres of farmland, Coleman Agriculture takes pride in growing high-quality hops, hazelnuts, seed crops and vegetables. Over the past 170 years, crops and farming methods have changed, however the innovative spirit and work ethic of their ancestors remain deeply ingrained in the farming business. By producing the highest quality products responsibly and sustainably, the Coleman family remains true to their heritage.

Learn more about Coleman Agriculture at www.colemanag.com.