What’s in a name? In this case, perhaps your next great brew. Last week the Hops Brewing Company (HBC) – the joint venture between the John I. Haas, Inc. and Select Botanicals Group breeding programs – commercially released HBC 291 and announced that it will be marketed and sold as Loral™. Loral™ joins Citra^® and Mosaic^® as part of the HBC’s hop portfolio.

The path to commercial release has been a long one for Loral™. HBC 291 first came into existence as a single plant in 2003. Six long years later at the behest of a single brewer the hop earned its way to a one-acre test plot. As interest grew from the brewing community so did the planting volume, until the HBC leadership determined that customer interest was sufficient to bring the hop to market commercially.

For those interested in experiencing what Loral has to offer, Lunacy and Basco’s Brew (two experimental beers brewed at the Haas Innovations Brewery in Yakima), will be on tap at the John I. Haas booth 1527 this week at the Craft Brewing Conference in Philadelphia.

Haas will have Loral™ available in 2016 with the capacity to rapidly expand product year-over-year. Samples and orders can be placed now for the 2016 crop by contacting your Haas representative.