For our latest collaboration with Yakima Valley Hops, we set out to explore something we’ve been curious about for a while: what happens when you build a Hazy IPA using only advanced hop products?

Instead of traditional T90 pellets, Concentrated Effort was brewed with a combination of Citra Incognito, Citra Spectrum, and Citra Lupomax, all highly concentrated hop formats designed to maximize flavor while minimizing loss from hop absorption in both the kettle and during dry hopping.

At first glance, you might expect a beer like this to cost more to produce. And on paper, it does. Ingredient costs for Concentrated Effort came in about 11% higher than our standard Hazy IPA recipe.

But here’s where it gets interesting. Because these advanced hop products reduce wort and beer loss during the brewing process, we saw a significant increase in yield, a whopping 21% more finished beer per batch compared to our typical Hazy IPA.

When you factor that in, the economics flip. Despite the higher ingredient cost, Concentrated Effort ended up costing about 8% less per barrel to produce.

Yes, you read that right. I had to do a double take myself when I saw the numbers. Traditional hop pellets absorb a surprising amount of beer during dry hopping, especially in hazy styles where hop loads are high. It turns out that loss really adds up quickly.

In other words, by using more efficient hop formats:

• We kept more beer in the tank
• Maintained intense hop character
• And improved overall production efficiency

This experiment broadened the options for the measure of success for any brewer: brewhouse efficiency. Efficiency isn’t just about ingredient cost, it’s about what you actually get into the glass.

Concentrated Effort delivered both strong Citra expression and improved yield, making a compelling case for the role advanced hop products can play in modern, hop-forward brewing.