In September this year, Mr. Malt - P.A.B. S.r.l – the Caldic brand for brewers in Italy – was invited by Yakima Chief Hops to visit their farms and participate in the hop selection process. This was part of YCH's ‘Project Open Doors’ initiative, allowing international brewers to access their facilities. Patrizia Zanier - Managing Director, Mr. Malt, joined by Laurent Pasqualini - (former) CEO, Caldic Europe, toured the farms, smelled freshly harvested hops, and helped brewers choose the most suitable batch for their future beers according to the desired aromas.
To make Mr. Malt part of the select invitees was a grand gesture on Yakima’s end and a testament to a 12-year partnership. Yakima Chief Hops® is a network of family-owned hop farms from the Pacific Northwest of the USA that develop, research, and grow hop varieties. Hops are one of the key ingredients in beer, particularly when brewing IPA, APA, and NEIPA beer styles, and give beer its characteristic aroma and taste – whether that is citrusy, floral, spicy, smoky, bitter, or a combination of them all. Experienced brewers can distinguish the notes in their rawest form to anticipate their impact on the final product.
The brewing experts at Mr. Malt keep themselves informed of brewing trends, ingredients, and applications – guiding customers with their market and application know-how. All facilities have the required quality certifications, where great care is taken to store the hops. The customers are also advised on how to transport the hops – ensuring that temperature is controlled and oxygen is avoided so that it reaches the brewery in an optimal condition.
Beyond the commercial success of the partnership, what draws Mr. Malt to Yakima Chief is how they conduct their business. They are attentive to both the needs of their customers and growers – supporting and balancing the needs of the farmers, the community, and the environment. Italian customers have direct access to the American hop and brewing ingredients, and there is a kinship that allows them to serve the needs of the brewing community together
This was visible at Hop & Brew School® organized by Yakima Chief Hops that took place on Mr. Malt's premises for the second consecutive year. Featuring workshops, panel discussions, forecasts of the brewing market, reports on the year’s hops harvest and even experiencing them firsthand – this was the place to be for any professional brewer.
This year, 70 brew aficionados could sample some varieties of newly bred hop varieties that aren’t yet commercially available. Performing a sensory analysis the traditional way – feeling and smelling them – to determine their flavor and possible application, and tasting beer from the Bale Breaker Brewing Company, located in the Yakima Valley – were the highlights of the day. The participants and representatives from Yakima Chief Hops were thoroughly impressed by the event and Hop & Brew School Italy garnered an overwhelmingly positive response.
“The key to our successful partnership with Mr. Malt over the years has been staying closely in touch with each other and being transparent about local brewers’ needs, concerns, and emerging market trends to best respond to them. Having Mr. Malt be introduced early to our R&D pipeline and incoming brewing solutions also helps their team be well prepared to respond to brewers’ questions about a brand-new variety or product. Our companies share values of respect, integrity, dedication, and excellence, which naturally leads to a trusted cooperation.”
Maria Skalli, Sales Director - Global Channel Partners, Yakima Chief Hops
“We are proud to be a Yakima Chief Hops distributor and connect Italian brewers with US family hop farms. Our longstanding partnership with YCH enables us to provide our customers with top-quality hops and advanced hop products, offering them continuous support on new applications as well as inspiration for their brews.”
Patrizia Zanier, Managing Director, Mr. Malt - P.A.B. S.r.l
Food trends move fast, like wellness, taste, plant-based and sustainability. Caldic blends global sourcing with local labs to co-create delicious, functional, on-trend solutions. We help food brands scale faster, reformulate smarter, and deliver what consumers crave.
