Ready for fresh beer in four US cities
Alaska Air Cargo is again linking farm fields to fermenters, flying about 4.1 t of freshly harvested Pacific Northwest hops to Minneapolis, Austin, Denver and San Diego this autumn. The "Fresh Hop Air" program with Yakima Chief Hops rushes whole-cone hops from Oregon/Washington to brewers within 24–36 hours of harvest, using tight cold-chain handling to keep them green and aromatic—unlocking wet-hop beers that were once mostly a Northwest privilege.
39 breweries will tap the airlift this season; in Minneapolis, Surly Brewing is brewing two fresh-hop releases that debut at "Darkness Day", celebrated tomorrow, 4 October. The model builds on earlier collaborations with breweries in Chicago and Los Angeles and could expand across Alaska & Hawaiian Air Cargo’s network, applying the carrier’s perishables expertise (think seafood) to a very different kind of “fresh” freight. (ah)