Hop quality is the sum of many factors ranging from harvest timing to cold storage. But one component that gets left out of the equation all too often is logistics.
Have you ever considered the journey your hops go through from the moment you place an order to a box (or pallet) arriving at your brewery door? It can be arduous. A shipment from the Pacific Northwest to a brewery on the East Coast can experience extreme temperature fluctuations, weather delays, and rough handling that can permanently damage the quality of your hops and delay expected delivery windows. Not every shipment will experience these effects, but why not avoid the possibility if you can?
Hop quality and customer experience are key business drivers at Crosby Hops. We heard the challenges eastern US brewers were facing and decided to do something about it. We partnered with Mattingly Cold Storage in Zanesville, Ohio. Mattingly is a family owned and operated third party logistics company that specializes in temperature-controlled storage and cold chain logistics. They have been in business for over 70 years and have been pivotal to our eastern US business. Their focus on inventory quality and customer service aligns with Crosby values. This has created an “eastern hub” we count on for business excellence. Our customers now have an eastern-US warehouse to store and ship contracted and spot hop inventory.
The benefits for brewers who take advantage of this eastern US operation are notable. For those times where you need hops on short notice, orders placed before 3PM EST will ship the next business day for both spot and contracted inventory. With hops stored in Ohio, you will receive ground shipments in 2-3 business days in most cases. This cuts order time from the West Coast to East Coast in half. With transit time reduced, shipping costs and unforeseen errors are reduced as well. Next day shipments ensure your hops arrive on time, so your production never falls behind.
A significant quality benefit is the unbroken cold chain from Oregon to Ohio. All Crosby hops are stored frozen at 28 degrees Fahrenheit after processing in Oregon. Inventory being transferred from Oregon to Mattingly is loaded onto a refrigerated container, shipped cold via rail or truck, and stored frozen in Ohio ready for orders. This eliminates major temperature fluctuations, the largest quality variable when scheduling long-range shipments across the country. Much of this inventory is shipped intermodal (train) which is significantly more sustainable than truck and air freight.
