Friday, April 8, 2022
CapitalPress.com
Crosby Hops: Five generations of farmers
By ALIYA HALL
For the Capital Press
WOODBURN, Ore. —
Blake Crosby is a fi fth-gen-
eration farmer at Crosby
Hops, where he’s carrying
on the family tradition and
taking the company in new
directions.
“From a young age, I saw
this potential in the family
business and felt the same
spirit in the craft brewing
industry, which made the
decision easy to go all-in
on building the next gen-
eration of Crosby Hops,”
he said.
Crosby Hops is a verti-
cally integrated hop grower,
processor and merchant in
Woodburn, Ore., with 600
acres. The business also
formed the TopWire Hop
Project, a beer garden on
their property that features
a tap list of collaborations
brewed by Crosby Hops
customers.
Crosby Hops started
in the early 1900s when
Albert Crosby planted the
fi rst hops. Since then, the
Crosbys have continued to
embrace modernization and
innovation.
In 2012, Blake Crosby
saw a new direction for the
business.
“The needs of craft brew-
ers have changed dramati-
Blake Crosby is the fi fth generation to operate Crosby
Hops. In 2012, he had a vision to move away from the
highly commoditized hop business with a hyper-focus
on specialized hops processed on site.
cally over the last 10 years,”
he said. “I had a vision that
included building a Crosby
brand and direct sales rela-
tionships with craft brew-
ers instead of traditional hop
dealers.”
This investment also
included the hop pellet pro-
cessing facility, which pro-
duces Type 90 hop pellets.
“With fl avor and aroma
hops from the Pacifi c North-
west specifi cally becom-
ing the centerpiece of
beers around the world,
the focus on hop quality is
more important than ever,”
Crosby said.
The challenge now, he
added, is how to grow and
process hops to meet the
ever-changing demand.
As a business that grows,
processes and sells hops,
Crosby Hops has a stream-
lined operation. They use
a unique cooling and oxy-
gen limit process — diff er-
ent from the typical process.
It progressively chills their
hops during the most crit-
ical steps of the pelleting
process.
Crosby
Hops
were
also early adopters of the
soft pellet technology,
which uses less pressure
at the die when pellets are
formed.
Sustainability is also an
important part of the busi-
ness. In 2016, Crosby Hops
was the fi rst supplier in the
craft beer industry to attain
the Certifi ed B Corp. sta-
tus, which means “we bal-
ance profi t with purpose to
be a force for good,” Crosby
said.
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31989 Cinema Way, Tangent, OR
From Hwy 34, go north on HWY 99E for
a half mile. Turn west on Cinema Way
541-928-2937
• 1
541-928-2937
• 1-800-982-1099
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