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(Matt Brynildson)
“It’s the nomadic exploration, the passion, the search, the innovation and dedication of each and every person who lives for beer.” – Matt Brynildson, Firestone Walker Brewing
“Hop Dreams,” is a short film that explores the art of hop farming in Washington’s Yakima Valley. It was produced by Firestone Walker Brewing and like all of their films it’s both cinematic and prosaic, so much more than just a crass advertisement for the brewery.
The film follows Brewmaster Matt Brynildson, Propagator Brewing Manager Sam Tierney and Raw Materials Manager Tim Miller as they make their annual pilgrimage to Yakima Valley, a special place on the planet for hops.
The Yakima Valley has proven to have the ideal combination of the right climate, day length, soil and access to irrigation systems for hop growing, which is why over 75% of the nation’s hops are grown here.
(Matt with Graham Gamache of Cornerstone Ranches)
Along the way, the film showcases the people, heritage and innovations that drive one of the world’s most important and prolific hop-growing regions.
“Hop Dreams” features growers such as Graham Gamache of Cornerstone Ranches, a fifth-generation farm that produces the Cashmere hops featured in notable Firestone Walker IPAs, including Hopnosis and Mind Haze.
“The bottom line is: no farmers, no beer,” Brynildson says. “We have nothing but high regard and praise for these people who work so hard for our beers.”
The film also follows Director of Brewing Innovation Blaze Ruud as he explains the groundbreaking qualities of Yakima Chief’s Mosaic Cryo Hops®, which are made by collecting the concentrated lupulin from whole-leaf hops.
Ultimately “Hop Dreams” reveals how these relationships with some of the world’s top hop growers are Firestone Walker’s secret ingredient behind beers like Hopnosis—from soil to sunlight, conception to reality, raw material to liquid magic.
“Hopnosis is all of these things in one can of beer,” Brynildson adds. “It’s the nomadic exploration, the passion, the search, the innovation and dedication of each and every person who lives for beer.”
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