Alphadelic: The Story of a Northwest Classic

The year was 2009. Microsoft introduced us to Windows 7. Modern Family debuted on ABC, Avatar arrived in theaters and Slumdog Millionaire won Best Picture. Circuit City closed for good, Barack Obama accepted the oath of office and we said goodbye to analog broadcast TV as digital signals became mandatory nationwide.

It was also the year Hop Valley opened its brewery and hit the shelves of Eugene and Springfield with its flagship IPA—Alphadelic.

As one of the original Hop Valley production beers, Alphadelic pays homage to the great IPAs from the Pacific Northwest that showcase hops in a big way. As noted by head brewer Trevor Howard, “This beer is brewed by hop lovers for hop lovers!”

Alphadelic features a classic selection of hops, including locally grown Cascade and Chinook, combined with a healthy malt bill and water sourced from the sparkling McKenzie River. Fermented with Valley Girl, Hop Valley’s house ale yeast, Alphadelic showcases the character and unique attributes of Pacific Northwest hops. This is a beer that pleases your taste buds with floral notes, citrus flavors and piney resin all balanced by a cracker-y bread-crust-malt backbone. This beer represents the classic flavors of an American IPA—just as the brewers intended.

Thinking about food pairings for Alphadelic? Try aged hard cheeses like Sharp Cheddar or Stilton with big flavors that will keep up with the Northwest IPA. Floral and citrus notes compliment the aroma of the cheese while the carbonation and alcohol help break down lingering fats to cleanse your pallet for the next bite. Alphadelic also goes well with spicy Indian food and, believe it or not, makes an excellent companion to carrot cake.

Like many things since 2009, Alphadelic has changed some over the years—thankfully all for the better. Aside from a design makeover, one of the biggest changes was the addition of a CFT canning line to the Hop Valley brewery in 2015. Not only does the new canning system run at much higher volume than the previous one, it also slashed the amount of dissolved oxygen (DO2) in the final product by almost 90%! Oxygen is one of the main enemies of beer and the low levels of DO2 means better consistency of flavor and a longer shelf life for all Hop Valley products, including Alphadelic.

One thing that hasn’t changed is Alphadelic’s popularity. Once released, Alphadelic six-packs quickly became the number-one selling craft beer can in Oregon, a position it still holds today. In addition to six-packs, Hop Valley also offers Alphadelic in 12- and 24-packs and you can find it in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Northern California.

More positive changes are in store for 2017, with Alphadelic arriving in Nevada and Arizona for the first time and the planned release of 12oz bottles in select markets. Stay tuned for that as we toast Hop Valley’s classic IPA and a Northwest original.