In 1920, Michael Loftus, an Irish immigrant and grandfather of BT Loftus, follows the railroad west, settles in Yakima, and buys the family homestead. Twelve years later, Leota Mae, wife of BT Loftus and great-grandmother to Bale Breaker Brewing owners, plants the first hop field, igniting the family’s legacy for four generations and counting. Mike Smith, father to Bale Breaker owners Patrick, Meghann, and Kevin Smith, joins grandmother Leota Mae to run the farm after BT’s sudden passing, marking the third generation of hop farmers. Kevin Quinn marries Meghann Smith after meeting at the University of Washington Business School. This is where Grit & Grain Episode 69 began. The Grit & Grain sat down with Kevin Quinn to hear how he and the fourth-generation built Bale Breaker smack-dab in the middle of their hop Field 41 and how their Loftus Ranches supply the brewery and the rest of the nation with hops. Stream the episode (with earphones) while enjoying our Bale Breaker beer flight — a flight we’re calling Peaks & Pints Bale Breaker Beer Flight.

Peaks & Pints Bale Breaker Beer Flight

Bale Breaker Dormancy

6.8% ABV

Substitute your cup of Joe for this breakfast stout. This beer packs a breakfast punch with its intense roasted coffee flavor and rich chocolate notes. Bale Breaker achieved the freshly brewed espresso taste by conditioning this oatmeal stout on locally roasted coffee beans from Yakima’s Lincoln Avenue Coffee Co. If you love coffee, you will love this beer. It’s filling and complex but will leave you wanting more.

Bale Breaker Duskbound

6.3% ABV

Duskbound is an updated take on Bale Breaker’s Hazy L recipe, which has been rolled back as Duskbound rolls out into the market. Featuring Citra, Citra HyperBoost, HBC 630, and HBC 1019, with all of the hops grown on its family hop farm, this hazy has a tremendous summery punch of tropical fruit, peach, and melon.

Bale Breaker High Camp Winter IPA

7.3% ABV

Named for the ski lodge atop White Pass Ski Resort, High Camp IPA takes Bale Breaker’s signature hop-forward style to a darker side. It adds chocolate malts for a malty backbone of spice and chocolate. Dry-hopped with Cascade, Centennial, and Mosaic, the hop character in High Camp bursts with pine and grapefruit.

Bale Breaker Skyward IPA

6.5% ABV

Bale Breaker Skyward IPA is a clean, easy-drinking IPA. Like Daybreak Pale Ale joined the year-round lineup while keeping the classic Field 41 Pale Ale around, Skyward IPA joined its flagship IPA, Topcutter, as a second IPA option for the brewery’s year-round lineup. The West Coast IPA is named after Bale Breaker’s hops, which stretch in a specific direction as they grow at Loftus Ranches, Bale Breaker’s fourth-generation family hop farm. This new IPA features Simcoe, Mosaic, Citra, and CTZ hops, providing notes of grapefruit, pineapple, and classic West Coast dankness.

Bale Breaker Mount Saint Humulus

10% ABV

Bale Breaker’s Mount Saint Humulus triple IPA is a longtime fan-favorite and winner of the Washington Hop Mob in 2020. Originally brewed in 2015 as part of the Washington Hop Mob, it has become a February staple for the Yakima Valley brewery. This year’s batch is hopped with Warrior, Columbus, Mosaic, Ekuanot, Simcoe, and Citra for citrus, tropical, blueberry, apricot, and floral aromas with a dangerously smooth bitterness.

LINK: Peaks & Pints beer and cider cooler inventory