Say Goodbye to 2020 by Freezing and Smashing All the Items That Represent Your Worst Memories of the Year

For better or (mostly) worse, this year has been everything but ordinary. Whether or not you’ve found your silver lining, an unusually bad year deserves a unique send-off that will wipe the slate clean. For Hop Valley, an Oregon-based craft brewery, that means freezing the personal items that represent your worst 2020 memories and smashing them into a million little pieces.

Using the same Cryo Hops technology that freezes the brewery’s hops at subzero temperatures to create a smoother IPA, Hop Valley will deep-freeze your unwanted items before dropping them from 30 feet in the air — a plunge that will obliterate them and hopefully get rid of any bad vibes.

Hop Valley’s IPAs aren’t bitter and soon you won’t be either.

“It goes without saying that 2020 has been a crazy year, so we wanted to help people ring in 2021 on a positive note and leave the bitterness behind,” says Megan McKenna, director of marketing for Hop Valley Brewing Co.

To participate in this 2020 send-off — fondly known by the brewery as Cryo Drops — anyone 21 years and over can head to the event’s official website and request a prepaid USPS box. Anything that fits in the large USPS box (12 ¼ inches x 12 ¼ inches x 6 inches) can be sent to the brewery to be frozen. There are some restrictions, of course, but for the most part, if it fits, it ships with no weight limits to worry about. Hop Valley will freeze items received by Dec. 22, then gather them all, along with their bad juju, to be shattered during an Instagram livestream on Dec. 31.

Beyond putting 2020’s bad memories in the past, the Cryo Drops event also celebrates the expansion of Hop Valley. Hop Valley is currently available in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California, Nevada, Arizona, and Colorado, and will become available nationally in spring 2021. To find a Hop Valley location near you, check out the brewery’s beer finder.

“We saw this as a fun way to celebrate Hop Valley bringing its less-bitter, refreshingly different IPAs to beer lovers across the country in 2021, and kick off the new year with high spirits,” says McKenna. “We’re saying goodbye to bitter 2020 memories with the same technique we use to brew our beer, and showing drinkers who we are and why we deserve a spot on their shelf next year.”

Jessica Poitevien is a Travel + Leisure contributor currently based in South Florida, but always on the lookout for the next adventure. Besides traveling, she loves baking, talking to strangers, and taking long walks on the beach. Follow her adventures on Instagram.