ABOUT US

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West Coast Hop Breeding is a hop breeding company comprised of five Oregon hop growers. The company was established in 2016 to ensure that Oregon hop growers have a sustainable future by developing varieties that thrive in Oregon’s unique soil and climate growing conditions.

OUR HOPS

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McKenzie™

After five years of breeding and evaluating crosses, WCHB is excited to announce our first experimental variety to market. Formerly known as C-148, we have named our first variety McKenzie™. Our breeder Pat grew up fishing on the McKenzie River and always thought McKenzie would be a great name for a hop. What better way to kick off our breeding company!

McKenzie™ has shown great agronomics and has a unique aroma profile that plays well with other hop varieties. Its naturally hazy characteristics include stone fruit, tropical, sweet tart and dank.

2B

Our second hop to be released showing superior disease resistance is 2B.  This “late-pick” hop is vigorous and can be grown both conventionally and organically.  2B has a clean, citrus-forward profile with hints of lime zest, melon and pine resin and a high aroma impact of apple and pear. This hop can stand alone or be paired up to increase the layered, rich range.  Check back as 2B is renamed to enter the market!

MORE HOPS UNDER DEVELOPMENT!

BREEDING PROGRAM

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West Coast Hop Breeding’s program is headed by Pat Leavy, who brings years of breeding experience. Pat started growing hops in 1978 after graduating with a degree in Finance from the University of Oregon. He represented Oregon growers on the Hop Research Council in the late 1980’s and 1990’s and gained knowledge from his interactions with the USDA hop breeding program at Oregon State University. Pat learned hop breeding at the School of Hard Knocks, specializing in the trial-and-error learning method — “practical farmer breeding” as he calls it.

Since 2007 the goal of Pat’s work has been to develop competitive hop cultivars that are agronomically suitable to Western Oregon. Along with his knowledge, Pat has also brought his unique germplasm to the group, allowing us to accelerate our breeding efforts. Thousands of seedlings are evaluated each year.

SEEDLINGS

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TEST PLOTS

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PARTNERS

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– B & D Farms, Ben Smith

– F & B Farms, Fred Geschwill

– Fobert Farms, Paul Fobert

– Leavy Farm, Pat Leavy and Jean Ann Quinn

– Stauffer Farms, Jeff Bizon

L-R: Pat Leavy, Cheyene Fobert, Fred Geschwill, Paul Fobert, Jeff Bizon and Ben Smith 
West Coast Hop Breeding - PARTNERS

CONTACT US

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