Alaska Air Cargo hops to it

Washington state is known for its perishables market — apples, cherries and salmon — and Seattle logistics teams know how to get a move on to deliver produce for optimal freshness.  

Alaska Air Cargo leveraged its cool-chain capabilities to give fresh hops a leap between central Washington to breweries in Hawaii and Alaska, with only 24 hours to get the hops off the plane and into the boil for the best beer taste.  

Around 1,200 lbs (around 1/2 tonne) of hops were bagged onsite immediately after picking, loaded into refrigerated trucks and driven to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to be flown to brewers in Maui and Anchorage.  

After their first successful shipment now literally “in the can,” Alaska Air and Yakima Chief Hops, a hop distribution organization for growers, hope to expand fresh hop destinations for breweries around the world.