Contract hops are arriving one after another 🌿
Many breweries (including major ones) purchase hops through domestic trading companies, but we import most of our hops directly from US suppliers.Until now, we primarily purchased "spot hops," meaning we bought available hops as needed. However, starting with the 2025 harvest, we have switched to contract hops.
There are significant advantages to ordering from domestic trading companies, such as quick delivery and the ability to purchase in small quantities. However, inventory can be limited, and sometimes you can't choose the lot or harvest year. This is unavoidable for proper domestic inventory management, and we understand that.
On the other hand, many large breweries in the US commonly contract their annual usage with suppliers and use hops that they are satisfied with in terms of quality and flavor after a "hop selection." We ourselves have previously struggled with variations in quality and flavor between different hop lots. Therefore, after consulting with a US supplier, we decided to enter into a hop purchase contract, albeit for a small quantity of approximately 200kg.
This is probably an unusual undertaking for a small domestic brewery. We believe this is a challenge unique to us, given our experience importing brewing equipment and hops ourselves.
The first hops to arrive were major varieties such as Citra and Mosaic.
After hop selection, we were able to choose a lot with a flavor that suited our preferences. The analytical data clearly demonstrates its high quality.
As a brewery that champions "hop-forward" beers, we are now even more proud and very much look forward to brewing beers with these hops and delivering them to you all 🍺