Single Hill Brewing

It’s a special thing to start a brewery in the middle of the largest and most historically important hop growing valley in America. Further, to have a purpose and focus driven by the community that surrounds it. Add in a big dose of experimentation and a dash of creative spirit and you’ve got Single Hill Brewing out of Yakima, Washington.

Founded by Zach Turner (“Director of Liquids” – Head Brewer & GM) and Ty Paxton (“Positive Vibes Director” – Sales & Marketing), Single Hill Brewing first opened their doors in 2018 and have built a one-of-a-kind brewery in the heart of hop country. Where Zach & Ty came from goes a long way toward understanding their ethos, the beer they create, and as a space various communities of people consider a home away from home.

After years of homebrewing in college, Zach spent 4 years brewing at Odell Brewing, overseeing beer quality, in Fort Collins, CO. In 2012 he signed on with Hop Union where he became the Director of Quality & Sustainability. His work continued on in the same fashion when Hop Union became part of Yakima Chief Hops in 2017. During that time he created their Technical Solutions Group that hones in on farm quality and analysis, as it pertains to the cultivation and production of hop products. He was also the project manager for YCH’s cryo hop program – one of the first to do so in the world and owner of the US patent for the technology used to create these specialized hop products.

Alternatively, co-founder Ty Paxton, originally from nearby Selah, Washington, majored in Marketing & Fine Arts at Washington State. He brings a history of sales and marketing, as well as design experience to the enterprise and was last employed as the marketing director of Virginia Mason Memorial Hospital (now Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital) before getting Single Hill off the ground.

Turner & Paxton met by chance at a cider pressing party being hosted by mutual friends in 2013. Both had dreamed for years about opening a brewery and 3 years later made it a reality when they purchased their current location, a 1970’s era JC Penney Tire Center, complete with the original brick work and Douglas Fir wood beams supporting 4-inch thick tongue and groove ceilings.

What’s resulted is outlined perfectly on their website: the brewery acts “as a hub and supporter of three different communities: our Coworkers, the people that make up Single Hill; our Home, the Yakima Community; and our Profession, our fellow brewers and the suppliers that support it.” From this ethos also springs their mantra, “Beer Grows Community,” something made manifest by their work with local non-profits:

“Once a month, we host a nonprofit that supports our local community. We give them the opportunity to talk to our guests & set up an informational table and we donate 50% of our draft beer sales from that day directly to their cause. Additionally, we produce Beer Grows Community beers throughout the year. These BGC beers are collaborations with nonprofit organizations, and 10% of our sales of those beers, whether as pints in the taproom or kegs to distributors, are in turn donated to the nonprofit.”

As for what goes in the can, based on Zach’s history in Yakima, you can be assured that experimentation, sensory, and creativity are all at the fore. Their Outcross IPA series, a special program wherein they ferment the same base beer in side-by-side fermenters, with each dry-hop featuring a different experimental hop, then served as three tasters at their taproom or a three pack of cans. Single Hill is also a key member of both the Hop Quality Group as well as the Brewers Association Supply Chain subcommittee.

And then there’s hop harvest, where brewers from around the world arrive en mass to
Yakima for hop selection, affording them the opportunity to make fun collaborations with friends in the industry as part of their annual Fresh Hop Rodeo. Then there’s the amazing self-built hop pelletizer used specifically each year for creating fresh hop pellets – not something you see anywhere else. It’s all a product of their place-based focus on the unique variety of world-class beers they brew regularly, appropriately captured in their very name – single hill being a term used to describe the late stages of an experimental hop project, set aside to flourish in it’s own terroir, without disturbing or being impacted by surrounding varietals.

In just over 5 years of existence, Single Hill has created over 352 unique beers (according to Untappd) with the style most often brewed (unsurprisingly) being various incarnations of IPA totaling 194, followed by Pale Ale at 28, and Fruited Sours at 23. Since their first entry into the Washington Beer Awards in 2019, Single Hill has been recognized with 13 medals, including 7 in their first year and 6 for fresh hop beers. They also received a GABF Gold Medal in the Fresh Hop Beer category in 2021 for their Energy Cone IPA.

So what better time to have Single Hill Brewing in town at Function PDX than during Fresh Hop season! Being that we’re early in FH season, the first drop will include 8 different IPAs in cans and/or draft, with Lookin’ Fresh, a phenomenal Frozen Fresh Hop & Hop Cryo creation, the closest thing to a fresh hop beer. That said, the brewery will be releasing 8 different fresh hop beers over the course of September, most of which should be featured at Function during the course of their takeover.

Content sourced from the following sites: Single Hill Brewing, Yakima Herald (“Community + Beer = Single Hill”), Yakima Valley – Meet The Maker, Washington Beer Blog, Craft Beer & Brewing Podcast: Zach Turner, Yakima Herald – Take 5 Ty Paxton, Yakima Chief Hops – Cryo Hops, Brewbound, Washington Beer Awards, and GABF.