Tacked to the end of a family road trip, I made a visit to the American Hop Museum in Toppenish, WA (which is just south of Yakima). It was a lovely museum and a fun trip through the hops production system!

American Hop Museum

The AHM has a mission to “preserve, protect & display the historical equipment, photos, and artifacts that have long been important in the raising and harvesting of this obscure perennial vine that is vital to the brewing industry.” The Yakima Valley is the heart of hop growing country, with a clear claim to being the nation’s largest hop producing area. The museum combines exhibits with artifacts and information displays with a fun and unique gift shop.

There is a small archives, around 30 cubic foot boxes (think paper boxes), with records pertaining to hops production in the area (pictures, correspondence, business records). From what the staff person said they haven’t had a lot of research traffic for the archival materials, but they do get a variety of visitors from all over the world. When we signed the guestbook I have to admit that people from England seemed to dominate!

You can learn more about the museum, including the history of the building, on their web page.

You can also find a new Flickr set “American Hop Museum in Toppenish — a field trip” with more pictures from my trip!