AB InBev’s announcement that it will stop selling South African hops to third parties outside of South Africa forced South African hop importer Greg Crum to close his business, ZA Hops.
Author Peter Kopp traces the hop’s history from its oldest ancestor, which grew in Asia, to the first hop arriving in America millions of years later, probably in a bottle of English ale.
In a round-up of beer news, Belgian beer is recognized as cultural heritage; White Labs Asheville begins production, New Holland brews lager with heirloom barley; and 2016 is a record year for US hop growers.
Teo Musso, one of the four original pioneers of Italy’s craft brewing movement, plans to debut Baladin Open Garden, a 786,000-square-foot beer park in the country’s Piedmont region, in June 2017.
Trading sprawling fields for rooftop gardens, urban farm breweries from Los Angeles to Chicago and New York bring a new kind of authenticity to farmhouse-style beers.
Gardening for the Homebrewer starts out with the basics, but what makes it great is chapters on growing other fermentables—from Gruit herbs, like yarrow and juniper, to cucurbits, the key to Cucumber Saisons and Pumpkin Ales.
The history of British hop strains Goldings and Fuggles has long been shrouded in mystery. Will new evidence reveal the identities of the people who lent their names to this pair of influential varieties?
Hydroponic growing techniques have existed since the early 17th century. These methods have already changed the way vegetables can be grown across the world, but why hasn’t anyone tried to grow hops this way?
Once primarily restricted to the pumpkin ales stacked high in supermarket aisles every fall, beers brewed with vegetables have become more widespread—and more adventurous.
Instead of using mass produced barley, wheat and rye malt, brewers around the country are beginning to look to heritage grains to add character and complexity to their beers—varieties packed with flavor and history.
If craft production is going to double in the next few years—per the Brewers Association’s goal of a 20 percent sales share by 2020—farmers will need to plant and harvest about another 18,000 acres of hops just to meet demand from craft brewers.
After public outcry from brewers and farmers, the Food and Drug Administration has promised to reword proposed regulations around using spent brewing grain as animal feed. The original proposal would have required brewers to dry, analyze and package the spent grain.
Shortages of aromatic hops forecast for 2014; HopCat to open Michigan’s largest beer bar in midtown Detroit; San Diego leads industry in job growth and wages; and Lakemaid’s beer-delivery drone program grounded by FAA.
For the first time, the US hop industry has grown more hops for aroma than for the commoditized bittering acid. The biggest driver of this change has been a 40-percent increase in Cascade acreage from 2012 to 2013; over 2,000 acres in the Pacific Northwest have been converted to Cascade.
The world produced over 134 million metric-tons of barley between 2011 and 2012. But up to 95 percent of the world’s barley is susceptible to a variety of a fungal disease called stem rust that was discovered in Uganda in 1999. Dubbed Ug99, it has spread across East Africa and up into the Middle East.
Adverse growing conditions impact the Canadian barley crop; archaeological site provides oldest evidence of brewing in France; non-alcoholic Weissbier’s health benefits; New Century Brewing closes; and Charles Koch Jr. passes away at 88.
In addition to their bittering, flavor, and aroma properties, hops help stabilize beer foam, kill unwanted bacteria, and, according to some studies, impart body-boosting antioxidants. Future breeds might bring an entire revolution to the brewing industry.
In the mad scramble to secure hops, some enterprising brewers have begun looking at their supply chains and wondering if things can be done differently.
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