YAKIMA, Wash. — Sesiones del Migrante is a series of beers brewed in collaboration with Mexican and American breweries to celebrate the Mexican migrant workers who travel to the Yakima Valley to harvest hops for breweries across the globe. This is the third year for this project, and Bale Breaker will released Sesiones del Migrante Mango IPA (5.9% ABV, 30 IBU) on May 4, 2019 in kegs and 6-packs throughout its distribution footprint in Washington State, western Oregon and northern Idaho.
Bale Breaker donates 20% of Mango IPA sales to La Casa Hogar. La Casa Hogar exists to provide a range of practical education and self-development opportunities especially suited to the needs of Latina/o immigrant families who comprise one of the most economically fragile, but socially important segments, in the Yakima Valley.
In 2017 at Cerveza Mexico — a national trade show — Esteban Silva, of Cervecería de Colima (Colima, Mexico) found his first collaborator: Cerveza Loba (Guadalajara, Mexico). From there, YCH Hops agreed to donate hops for the project, and then Silva reached out to Bale Breaker Brewing Company (Yakima, Washington) as well as two up-and-coming California breweries– Ronin Fermentation Project (Truckee, California) and SouthNorte (San Diego, California).
In May 2017, two of Bale Breaker’s brewer-owners, Kevin Quinn and Kevin Smith, traveled to Mexico to brew in Guadalajara and Colima. At Cerveza Loba, the brewers concocted Loba Nómada, a NE IPA featuring hand-peeled mangoes, a homegrown ingredient. In Colima, they brewed Vale Bale, an IPA with local coconuts. According to Cervecería de Colima, Vale Bale is “a beer inspired by all those people who leave their place of origin, with the firm aspiration to find a better quality of life.”
In early August, brewers from all four collaborating breweries came to Yakima to brew Bale Breaker’s Sesiones del Migrante Mango IPA featuring the freshest Yakima Valley hops.
“We’re happy that this brewing collaboration will create awareness of the hard work of Yakima’s Latino community. Their work both during harvest and year-round is essential to creating the hoppy beers everyone loves,” said Meghann Quinn, owner/business manager at Bale Breaker. “We look forward to this partnership continuing into the future.”
About Bale Breaker Brewing Co.
Crafting #FreshOffTheFarm brews from the middle of a hop field, Bale Breaker Brewing Company is a family-owned brewery located in the beautiful Yakima Valley. Backed by four generations of hop farming experience, Bale Breaker started in 2013, and has grown to become the fourth largest independent craft brewery in Washington. With a 30-barrel brewhouse and a 27,000 square foot facility, we craft five year-round canned beers, including the widely celebrated Topcutter IPA. With a 5-barrel pilot brewhouse, the Imagination Station, we test and develop new recipes to continue honing our craft. Bale Breaker distributes statewide in Washington as well as in northern Idaho and western Oregon.
About La Casa Hogar
La Casa Hogar exists to provide a range of practical education and self-development opportunities especially suited to the needs of Latina/o immigrant families who comprise one of the most economically fragile, but socially important segments, in the Yakima Valley.
About Yakima Chief Hops
Inspired by the shared vision of connecting family hop farms with the world’s finest brewers, Yakima Chief, Inc. and Hopunion LLC merged in 2014 creating Yakima Chief – Hopunion, or Yakima Chief for short, a 100% grower-owned supplier of hops and hop products. We have made it our mission to connect family farms with the world’s finest brewers, providing the highest quality hop products and uncompromising service for the ultimate benefit of our customers, employees and growers.