"I'm already halfway from Denver to Erie Municipal Airport, where Serani had been planning to fly his four-seater RV-10 to Billy Goat Hop Farm in Montrose, Colo., for a fresh hop pickup. FlyteCo has been making this trip-typically mid- to late August-since the brewery opened in 2019. Plenty of beer writers count a ride-along on their bucket lists, and I'd been eagerly anticipating the experience for months."
"But the weather doesn't much care about fresh hop beers, pilots' passion projects, or journalists' dreams. As the hop flight gets postponed from a Monday to a Wednesday and then again, it becomes clear just how little about this endeavor is under Serani or any mere mortal's control-and how getting to make this flight and subsequent beer is like catching lightning in a bottle."
Serani planned a flight from Denver to Billy Goat Hop Farm in Montrose to pick up fresh hops for FlyteCo Tower's fresh-hopped IPA, a trip made since 2019. The harvest timing and day-of weather create last-minute scheduling and repeated postponements. Constant communication with the brewhouse is required so the team can have beer ready to receive hops immediately upon return. After six consecutive successful years, 2025 threatened to break the streak, with the possibility of overnight shipping if the flight could not occur by week’s end. The beer remains difficult and highly conditional to produce.
Read at CraftBeer.com
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