It takes a lot of faith in a hop variety to mix up the recipe for your most important beer. But that’s exactly what DEYA Brewing Company has been doing with ‘Steady Rolling Man’ for the last four years, with their annual special release of ‘Steady Rolling Strata’ using Indie Hops Strata®.
“We all thought it'd be really nice to do a beer that's focused on Strata® because it's such a special hop. There was a little bit of reticence in the beginning of fiddling with our flagship beer recipe. But one of the very clear attributes of Strata® is it's got a lot of complexity, & it's got lots of layers.”
DEYA first fell in love with the Indie Hops developed variety Strata® during a hop selection visit to the US in 2019. At Loughran Brewers Select, we used our relationship with Indie Hops of Portland, Oregon to bring Strata® to the UK and Europe, and, in the process, helped DEYA to become one of the first breweries in the UK to brew with Strata®. We’ve watched Strata® and ‘Steady Rolling Strata’ go stratospheric each year since then.
“So, in 2019, when we first tried beers with Strata® in them, we were all sort of looking at each other. I mean, like, “wow! this is pretty incredible!”… it had something about it that made us all sort of stop and pay attention to that beer that we'd ordered. We’d never heard of this hop before.”
Tweaking A Core Beer Recipe with Indie Hops Strata®
DEYA’s flagship beer ‘Steady Rolling Man’ uses a mix of great hops, but is Mosaic® led. For ‘Steady Rolling Strata’, DEYA chose to tweak the ‘Steady Rolling Man’ recipe make this new special beer a single hop beer. There were a few reasons for this. The first is obvious – for this one-off to be truly ‘special’ it couldn’t resemble ‘Steady Rolling Man’ too much – in DEYA head brewer Gareth Moore’s words: “It had to be a distinct thing”. The other reason for single hopping with just Strata® is because this hop offers that “little bit of extra magic”– several layers of complexity and flavours – and can really ‘sing’ on its own. Developer of Strata® (and Indie Hops co-founder & CEO) Jim Solberg points out “We’re always encourage our customers to try a one-off single hop Strata® beer because there are very few hops that can fill out a beer like that. It really does show off all those layers, all the different characteristics that you can get out of the hop.”
Whilst ‘Steady Rolling Man’ is carefully crafted to offer layers of flavour and aroma through the excellent hop combinations, ‘Steady Rolling Strata’ can bring something of its own to the table with just one hop because (for Gareth) Strata® is “really intense, but it’s not really brash & one dimensional. It’s intense & it has all these layers of citrus fruit, orange, lemon, some nice tropical fruit, & that little bit of darkness”. It’s these multiple dimensions which make the Strata® hop in the special version of ‘Steady Rolling Man’ work for Gareth and DEYA: “having those layers of aroma & flavour – we were confident that it would do the base recipe justice”.
Strata® Hop Selection
Working closely with our friends at Indie Hops, we arranged for Gareth from DEYA to select his chosen lot of Strata® at Indie Hops HQ in Portland, Oregon. The hop lots (or ‘brewers’ cuts’) brewers select from represent different fields from different farms, or sometimes just different fields from different locations on the same farm, planted at different times. Selection always poses a challenge given the responsibility on the shoulders of the brewer – selecting lots which will affect the next year’s beer production and recipes. As Jim Solberg says:
“One important thing is for the brewer to be familiar with the variety. And at this stage, it's been maybe four years for DEYA and Gareth to become familiar with Strata® as a new variety, and correlate what he's seen on the on the dry rub at selection with how the hop ended up brewing when he used the hops in his beer”
With a new hop, Jim advises potentially selecting two lots to compare results when brewing, to “take good notes”, and, in time, “You’ll end up dialling in on what you’re looking for”. Strata® – as mentioned – and so named for many layers of layers of flavour and aroma it offers, can present a range of citrus flavours – and sometimes strawberry – as well as dank, weedy elements. These weedy elements are not like a cannabis plant, more like what Jim refers to as “wafting cannabis… somebody smoking a joint around the corner down the bar… rock concert cannabis”. This ‘wafting cannabis’ serves as a platform to lift the fruit characteristics in the hop. For DEYA’s Strata® selection, one of the things they were keen to extract from their Strata® (based on their usage and experience with the hop) was, according to Gareth, “fresh orange, bright orange citrus character”, with “some tropical fruit as well, and a little bit of dankness”.
Fresh Strata® from Oregon to the UK
In an extra twist, (and for the second year running) ‘Steady Rolling Strata’ used the freshest possible Indie Hops Strata® from the current year’s hop harvest. In this case, the 2024 Pacific North West Hop Harvest which took place in August and September in Oregon, USA. This meant releasing a beer nationwide in the UK in late autumn 2024, which had been brewed in Cheltenham using hops only been harvested in Oregon a few months earlier. A tall order.
“Someone said “how quickly could we get the hops to the UK to brew with?” Because obviously this time of year over here [in Oregon during hop harvest] is really special because there's all these fresh hop beers coming out with American hops & being able to get them [the hops] to us in jig time to make a beer as quickly as possible it's really special. I think that's another element of interest for the people buying the beer.”
After selection, Gareth visited local hop farms which had grown and harvested Strata®, a hop which thrives in Oregon’s wonderful terroir. He then watched his chosen Strata® lot pelletised – one of the first lots of the harvest to run through the Indie Hops pellet mill – a pellet mill which was itself the first of its in kind in Oregon when it was built back in 2009. Then (in more firsts) DEYA’s Strata® became the first Strata® from Crop 2024 to arrive in the UK a few weeks later.
“All the aspects of all of our beers are important, but there's no getting away from the fact that hops are extra special, and walking through the field when the hops are, when they're ripe, when they're about to be harvested is pretty amazing. The smell is pretty intoxicating and just seeing the living thing growing in front of you, knowing that you're going to make a beer with it is about as good as it gets, I think. Apart from drinking the actual beer - that's the best bit!”
Gareth had selected his lot on Monday 9th September, watched it pelletised at Indie Hops pellet mill a few days later on Wednesday 11th, and those hops were then shipped out to the UK on Monday 16th September. This timeframe was a tall order given the hops needed their export certification from the US Department of Agriculture before they could ship – and then there was the complicated logistics of moving them into the UK at speed, a process which required liaison between us at Loughran Brewers Select, Jim and the team at Indie Hops, as well as DEYA too! The result was well worth it though. ‘Steady Rolling Strata’ launched at the DEYA taproom on Wednesday 30th October, with a full-scale nationwide launch on Friday 1st November.
“We work with Loughran Brewers Select covering the UK & Ireland, & they've developed relationships with some breweries like DEYA which are outstanding for us when the confidence develops that they'll do a program like this. They have the confidence that they're going to have a great ingredient in the form of the hop that they can use.”
Relationships & Good Communication Bring Access to Great Hops
The ‘Steady Rolling Strata’ project would not have been possible without the close relationship between us at Loughran Brewers Select, DEYA, and Indie Hops. We’ve outlined the importance of good communication between brewery and hop supplier in our ultimate guide to hop contracting, and the growth and success of the ‘Steady Rolling Strata’ beer is evidence of that. Through DEYA’s own careful forecasting, they’ve been able to communicate their Strata® needs for the next year, which has allowed us to work directly with Indie Hops to guarantee DEYA the Strata® they need, as well as providing DEYA with the opportunity to select from separate Strata® lots in Oregon during hop harvest too.
With fewer hops being strung in 2024, and expectations hop acreage could be cut in 2025 too, the need for breweries to plan ahead and communicate their hop needs becomes ever more significant. If fewer hops are strung, then there are fewer available in the market, and when demand increases (or spikes) it’s not like hops can just be ‘switched back on’ again – they take time to grow and establish, as Jim explains:
“the challenge in our in our growing region of Oregon.. the way we do it is we'll plant in the spring, late spring generally of a year, but we won't harvest it that same year. It's an establishment year. The next year we will have the hops, have that field strong and harvested…But it takes that long - nearly two years. So, two years to respond with new fields… it's a challenge, but that's the nature of a lot of agricultural products.”
This means any data breweries can share with their hop suppliers in terms of a hop contract, or some kind of commitment or goal they’re working towards with their hops and production is immensely valuable. As Jim notes, “we’re fully aware of the challenges for breweries and trying to predict the future. In today’s world, it’s more difficult than it’s ever been”. Hop producers and suppliers shoulder the majority of the risk in estimating demand for a superstar hop like Strata®, but any information on forecast needs for a hop over the coming year or years is, in Jim’s words, “tremendously helpful” for the farmer, the producer, and the supplier.
“So we've been working with Indie Hops now for four years… and building that relationship with the help of Loughran Brewers Select is what helps everyone understand each other's needs as much as possible... So a project like this will go all the more smoothly and work all the more effectively because we all understand how each other need to work a little bit and what information each other needs to be successful.”
Steady Rolling Strata – Consumer Demand & Growing Success
DEYA has managed to build on the success of ‘Steady Rolling Strata’ each year to reach a point where the 2024 production run was the biggest ever, up around 30% year on year, with DEYA carrying out 6 brews this year to meet estimated demand for the launch of the beer. As well as the ‘regular’ ABV ‘Steady Rolling Strata’ Pale Ale which packaged into can and keg, for the last few years DEYA produced a DIPA version, and 2024 marked the first year where there was a simultaneous launch of both Pale Ale and DIPA versions of ‘Steady Rolling Strata’ nationwide in both can and keg.
‘Steady Rolling Strata’ has “gone down well every single time we’ve done it” says Gareth, and it’s been great for DEYA to see it increase in popularity year on year. DEYA’s marketing and sales team has done an amazing job nurturing and building demand for this annual special beer release, going bigger and bolder with the ‘Steady Rolling Strata’ campaign each year. This year’s launch was accompanied by an animation, unique merch, venue posters, and even a billboard campaign, and of course email mailers and heaps of attendant social media buzz.
For us at Loughran Brewers Select, being able to walk into several great pubs over the beer’s launch weekend and see ‘Steady Rolling Strata’ and ‘Double Steady Rolling Strata’ pouring on the bar (and naturally, being able to sample a few pints ourselves) was an incredible – and slightly humbling – experience given the small role we’d played in the process. To then see Instagram awash with the beers and the #steadyrollingstrata hashtag in full swing as venues and consumers shared stories of the beers was the icing on the cake.
“It's wonderful exposure for Strata® in an outstanding, world class beer market.”
(L-R) ‘Steady Rolling Strata’ Launch Poster for Venues, ‘Steady Rolling Strata’ Billboard outside Cheltenham Rail Station, Screengrab from the DEYA Webshop during ‘Steady Rolling Strata’ campaign, DEYA ‘Steady Rolling Strata’ Premailer Email Campaign, Screengrab from DEYA ‘Steady Rolling Strata’ animation, Bayleys of Bromsgrove Instagram Story, Bayleys of Bromsgrove Instagram Story, @andydunne83 Instagram Story, @benbrownuk Instagram Story, @benvwin Instagram Story, Brewcavern Instagram Story, Brewtavern Brewcavern Instagram Story, Brewtavern Brewcavern Instagram Story, Heaton Hops Instagram Story, Firefly BeerHaus Instagram Story, Kings Head BS1 Instagram Story, The Dodo Micropub Instagram Story, The Good Measure Instagram Story, The Sutton Arms Instagram Story, The Wolf Birmingham Instagram Story, Tonic Worcester Instagram Story, We Are Supshop Instagram Story, WeeBeerShop Instagram Story
Steady Rolling Strata
Indie Hops Strata went from farm to glass in a matter of weeks for the most ambitious launch of DEYA’s ‘Steady Rolling Strata’ to date. Gareth’s meticulous hop selection, Jim’s organisation and logistics juggling, and the work of DEYA’s brewing, marketing and sales teams meant that beer lovers throughout the UK enjoyed great beers with the freshest Strata® hops on the continent. This was a unique collaboration between farmer, hop developer, and brewer, and a celebration of the amazing relationships which make this industry great.
“At the end of the day what we want to see is excited consumers drinking craft beer. And when you do things like what DEYA are doing with ‘Steady Rolling Strata’ as a special early from a new harvest effort with a great hop, it creates excitement.”
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🎄⛄️CHRISTMAS HOURS⛄️🎄
We will be closing for the Christmas Holidays at 5pm on Friday 20th December.
Orders for same day dispatch (next day delivery) must be received by 11am Friday 20th December
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We will reopen at 8am as normal on Monday 6th January 2025.
We’d like to say a huge thank you to you all for your continued support over the last year. We look forward to working with you in the New Year!
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy and peaceful 2025.🍺