Report: 2011 Fresh Hop Ale Festival in Yakima, WA

Note: This event happens every year on the first Saturday of October. I posted the 2011 report here since it seem to fit no other place.


9th Annual Fresh Hop Ale Festival
Report & photos by Clay Graham / Eastern Washington Adventures



At 5 PM on Saturday October 1st, 2011 I had my wife Lisa drop me off down town Yakima at the Millennium Arts Plaza for the 9th Annual Fresh Hop Ale Festival. It was $35 at the gate to get in. They gave you a glass of your choice, beer or wine and $6 of scrip to use. I am not sure if all of the breweries were the same but the ones I visited it was $2 of scrip for a 4 oz taste and $5 of scrip for a full glass.

This event was a lot of fun. They had craft beer, wine, cider, food vendors, a cigar vendor, home brewers and live music with dancing.

Proceeds from the Fresh Hop Ale Festival benefit Allied Arts of the Yakima Valley, providing nearly 20% of the annual budget in support of arts programs for all ages.

For the full report with 61 photos see: 9th Annual Fresh Hop Ale Festival - Oct 1 2011

I am a Yakima native, and am happy to hear the craft is going strong up there. When did the prosser(sp*) brewery open. I visited 2 years ago around thanksgiving and my father said that he didn't know of any breweries in the area.

naemlss said:

I am a Yakima native, and am happy to hear the craft is going strong up there. When did the prosser(sp*) brewery open. I visited 2 years ago around thanksgiving and my father said that he didn't know of any breweries in the area.

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I am not sure how long the Horse Heaven Hills Brewery has been around. I still have not made it down to check it out.