Huge Fire Disrupts Hop Supply

About 4% of the entire U.S. hop yield went up in smoke yesterday in a warehouse fire yesterday in Yakima, Washington. Federal investigators from the BATF are investigating the origins of the fire currently. The fire started shortly before noon Monday in a 40,000-square-foot warehouse operated by S.S. Steiner Inc., one of the largest hop dealers in the world. By mid-afternoon flames engulfed most of the building, sending up plumes of smoke and a bitter aroma.The AP estimates that the