Bale Breaker: now Yakima has two breweries

   The justly celebrated hop fields of the Yakima Valley are best seen along State Route 24, going from the city toward the town of Moxee.  That road will take you right past Bale Breaker Brewing, just opened in April this year.  Their modern 30-barrel system and taproom are literally surrounded by hops growing on their trellises.  Here's a view from the back of the plant:

And yet more hops can be seen from the front.

We must assume this is Field 41, since that's the name of their outstanding Pale Ale.  I had a festival taste of this at the Kennewick festival last May and had been looking forward to a whole pint ever since.  4.5% abv, 38 IBUs, and a wonderful aroma.
    Bale Breaker has started out just making this and an IPA, called Topcutter, attractively packaged in cans. They were also pouring a golden ale made for a fundraising event, called Ales for ALS. (a/k/a Lou Gehrig's disease.)  They seem to be doing a lot of things right and it's easy to predict a bright future for them.
(Visited 7/12/13)