Over the past 11 years, Roadhouse Brewing Co. has quietly emerged as a major contender among the nation’s best in producing hop-forward beers. Based out of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Roadhouse’s close proximity to the fertile hop-growing region of the Pacific Northwest has allowed greater access to a bounty of resources, but the brewery’s commitment toward supporting the research and development of hop innovation has further aided its ascent as an industry leader.

Roadhouse first splashed onto the national scene with the release of its Hazy IPA, The Walrus. Then a year ago, the mountain-based brewery further made waves with the acquisition of fellow hop icons in Melvin Brewing. However, it’s their latest collaborative IPA series, featuring team-ups with fellow accomplished IPA producers like Athens, Georgia’s Creature Comforts Brewing, and Salt Lake City’s Templin Family Brewing, that has best showcased the brewery’s recent investment in hop innovation.

The newest entry in Roadhouse’s Kush series features a collaboration with Colorado’s Odell Brewing Co. The debut of Sublime Kush, the fourth installment of the brewery’s experimental IPA series first stemmed from Roadhouse and Odell’s collaboration on a beer for last year’s Collaboration Fest in Westminster, Colorado. But the connection was further cemented as both breweries served as members of the Hop Research Council. The Hop Research Council comprises brewers, hop growers and industry groups that work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to allocate funds for hop breeding, research in the field of disease and pest mitigation, irrigation practices and other agronomically applicable work. The research has helped improve water conservation efforts and aided in the reduction of chemical use on hops as well, but its members also have the added benefit of greater access to innovative new hops.

“I love being on the forefront of hops and seeing what’s coming down the pipeline because I love experimenting and giving the consumer new flavors and aromas to experience,” said Max Shafer, Roadhouse Brewing brewmaster. “Vista was the last release from the HRC and at Roadhouse, we went all in on this hop and sponsored some of the first commercial acreage planted in the U.S. (that is the main hop in The Phlow, our summer seasonal). The handful of us as brewers who are on the HRC get a first look at the new hops coming down the pipeline, but they become available to any brewer who asks for them after our members get first dibs.”

The connections between the two breweries align even further with parallels between their business philosophies.

“Our core values are very similar as well—employee-owned companies, forward- and cutting-edge thinking and lovers of fine hops,” Shafer said. “Collab Fest was the perfect place to gut-check ourselves and see if a beer like this had legs to stand on. By using these new varieties, HRC 3 and HRC 4, we were after aromas and flavors from hops that people aren’t familiar with because not many beers had been brewed with these hops. I think we blew some folks away with our beer at Collab Fest, and I see nothing less than the same happening with Sublime.”

Sublime Kush’s use of the two new experimental hop varietals HRC 3 and HRC 4 showcases bright notes of grapefruit and lemon, backed by deep notes of cherry and raspberry. This special collaboration is now available on store shelves.

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