Loyd Hops Farms is in Nick Loyd’s south Everett back yard. Loyd maximized the space to grow hops by building a 10-foot-tall trellis that runs 40 feet across his yard. (Loyd Hops Farms)

Loyd Hops Farms is in Nick Loyd’s south Everett back yard. Loyd maximized the space to grow hops by building a 10-foot-tall trellis that runs 40 feet across his yard. (Loyd Hops Farms)

Beer of the Week: 5 Rights Brewing’s Fresh hop imperial IPA

The Marysville brewery named its beer Wobbly the Laborer after the Industrial Workers of the World.

Wobbly the Laborer

5 Rights Brewing, Marysville

Style: Fresh hop imperial IPA

Stats: 8.6 percent ABV, 100-plus IBU

Available: On tap at The Independent Beer Bar, The Hop and Hound, Fred’s Rivertown Alehouse, Bruno’s Pizzeria, Flatstick Pub, Creekside Ale House and Grill and The Brewmaster’s Taproom.

My thoughts: With only 24 hours to get the hops into the kettle, most fresh hops are made after a mad dash over the mountains to a hop-growing region like Yakima and a harried return that day.

5 Rights owner and head brewer R.J. Whitlow has an ace up his sleeve: Nick Loyd. The owner of Loyd Hops Farms has helped Whitlow brew his annual Wobbly the Laborer fresh hop imperial IPA for the past three years, including this year’s version.

What makes Loyd so special? He’s right here in Everett. Loyd’s family simply picks the hops off the rows of hop plants in his yard, drives them over to Whitlow and delivers the baskets of bright green goodness. Whitlow then pops the C-hops — Cascade, Chinook, Centennial and Columbus hops — and Nugget hops into the kettle.

This year, Loyd’s harvest was abundant. The hot, dry summer produced a large enough harvest — Whitlow received 70 pounds of hops — for 5 Rights to make two barrels’ worth of Wobbly. Loyd was also able to provide Everett’s Lazy Boy Brewing with 20 pounds of German Hallertau and Tettnanger hops for use in a fresh hopped Bavarian hefeweizen.

Loyd, who is a pastor at Mill Creek’s Pathways Church, started the hop farm five years ago after his mother-in-law brought back a hop starter plant from central Washington. The “farm” is really just Loyd’s south Everett back yard, but maximized the space, building a 10-foot-tall trellis that runs 40 feet across his yard for the hops to grow.

For Loyd, it’s a family affair, with his two children helping train the hop bines, prune excess growth and eventually pick the hops. He said there aren’t many days from when they first pop out of the ground until harvest in late August/early September that the family isn’t caring for the hops in some way.

“It’s been a fun hobby that’s brought our whole family together,” Loyd said. “And my kids can tell the difference between varieties of hops based on their leaf structure and cone appearance, which, in my mind, is just good parenting.”

As for the beer, Wobbly the Laborer is a big fresh hop IPA, finishing at more than 100 IBU. There’s a strong resiny aroma and punch of flavor up front, but the beer finishes soft and wet, maintaining the key aspect that makes fresh hop beers so famous. It’s a really good beer.

Whitlow reached back into Everett’s history to name the beer. Because fresh hops are brewed around Labor Day, Whitlow thought he’d name the beer after the Industrial Workers of the World, a radical labor group popular in the U.S. around the turn of the century that advocated for the end of capitalism. Members of the group were known as the Wobblies. Whitlow said he disagree with the Wobblies’ politics, but he admires their fight for workers’ rights.

Whitlow is also using nearly 400 pounds of Amarillo fresh hops straight from Gamache Farms in Toppenish to make a single hop IPA. For a look at all the fresh hop events happening over the next few weeks, see this week’s booze calendar.

5 Rights Brewing continues to make progress on its new taproom and restaurant in Lake Stevens. Whitlow was cautious not to give an opening date, but said everything is going well and that construction was recently put on hold for everyone involved in the project to take a deep breath and live their lives.

From the brewery: We start with a big West Coast imperial IPA recipe and then steep ridiculous amounts of fresh Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, Columbus and Nugget hops that were picked less than 24 hours before to create a one-of-a-kind hop lover’s delight.

More fresh hop releases:

Mosaic Fresh Hop and El Dorado Fresh Hop, Lazy Boy Brewing: Along with the fresh hop version of the Bavarian hefeweizen, Lazy Boy made a pair of single-hop fresh IPAs.

Black Sail CDA Wet Hop edition, Sound to Summit Brewing: This Cascadian dark ale is wet hopped with fresh Cascade hops, giving it a hop-forward citrus aroma and a malty backbone with flavors of coffee and caramel.

In Bloom, Pocketful of Fresh Hops and Höpley Crüe, Decibel Brewing: In Bloom is made with Centennial fresh hops, while Pocketful of Fresh Hops is the brewery’s Pocketful of Gold IPA dry hopped with Centennial, Chinook and Columbus hops. Höpley Crüe is a fresh hop saison made with wild hops picked in Snohomish.

Skookum If Ya Got Em, Skookum Brewing: Brewed with spelt and flaked wheat, this Simcoe fresh hop IPA has aroma of melon, citrus and grass.

Fresh Hopportunity, Lake Stevens Brewing: Made with fresh-picked Lake Stevens-grown Cascade and Tettnang hops, this pale ale is unique and resinous.

Momma’s Boy, Middleton Brewing: This fresh hop pale ale is brewed with 15 pounds per barrel of Cascade and Citra hops.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

A stroll on Rome's ancient Appian Way is a kind of time travel. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves on the Appian Way, Rome’s ancient superhighway

Twenty-nine highways fanned out from Rome, but this one was the first and remains the most legendary.

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Inside Elle Marie Hair Studio in Smokey Point. (Provided by Acacia Delzer)
The best hair salon in Snohomish County

You voted, we tallied. Here are the results.

The 2024 Kia EV9 electric SUV has room for up to six or seven passengers, depending on seat configuration. (Photo provided by Kia)
Kia’s all-new EV9 electric SUV occupies rarified air

Roomy three-row electric SUVs priced below 60 grand are scarce.

2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD (Photo provided by Toyota)
2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD

The compact SUV electric vehicle offers customers the ultimate flexibility for getting around town in zero emission EV mode or road-tripping in hybrid mode with a range of 440 miles and 42 mile per gallon fuel economy.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.