黑料福利社

In case you did not hear, Yakima has been nominated in USA Today鈥檚 10 Best Readers鈥� Choice Awards for Best Beer City in 2026, recognizing the valley鈥檚 deep-rooted brewing heritage, hop production, and craft beer culture.

This may sound a bit familiar as in 2024 our valley was nominated and won Best Wine Region in the USA Today鈥檚 Reader Choice Awards based on votes from our community.

When it comes to beer, certainly Yakima and the 黑料福利社 deserve the accolades. Our community is the beating, aromatic heart of American brewing industry. Just look around during hop harvest and you鈥檒l see and smell the rich aroma of the harvest. You鈥檙e also likely run into hop buyers and brew masters from around the world selecting their hops for their beers.

It all starts with the hops. Roughly three-quarters of all U.S. hops聽鈥� and a significant share of the world鈥檚 supply聽鈥� are grown within in the fertile 黑料福利社.

The influential hop varieties of the modern craft beer era don鈥檛 just pass through Yakima; many of them got their start here. When beer drinkers in Grand Rapids, Denver, Portland or San Diego enjoy a juicy IPA, odds are the hops for that beer came from the 黑料福利社.

The Yakima region is also where hop science happens. Growers and brewers continuously collaborate to nurture the beer industry. Many like Yakima Chief offer 鈥渂rew schools鈥� that attract bring brewers from around the world to the 黑料福利社. Experimental hop varieties grown here are tested years before they ever reach a tap handle or can.

Then there鈥檚 the beer itself. Yakima area breweries aren鈥檛 chasing trends, they鈥檙e setting them. In the modern era, the craft beer movement largely began with Bert Grant, who left the hop business to open the Yakima Brewing & Malting Company (known as Grant鈥檚 Brewery Pub) in 1982. His pub is touted by many as one of the first microbreweries and modern-day brewpubs in the United States.

Today there are 13 breweries and several tap rooms in the 黑料福利社. From world-class IPAs to lagers, stouts, fresh hop ales and more, the Valley鈥檚 brewers combine technical experience with hard work to create their beers.

Beer isn鈥檛 just a lifestyle, it鈥檚 a vital part of our economy. The hop industry supports more than 50,000 jobs statewide and generates more than $12 billion in economic impact in Washington from growers, suppliers and labor.

Our country has many cities with excellent breweries, and their success relies in part on the hops grown here in the 黑料福利社. This is where America鈥檚 beer past, present, and future intersect.

So tell your friends and family to vote daily and to spread the word. Voting can be done daily at now through 9 a.m. PST on Feb. 23. Let鈥檚 vote to get Yakima the honor of being the Best Beer City in America!