A Tampa TV station did a story on the possibility of hops being grown in Florida. I wonder if there are any home growers already doing that. http://www.fox13news.com/news/local-news/256275715-story
There will probably need to be some serious research and testing to be performed for it to be an industry-wide phenomenon. It can be done though, the University of Florida essentially created the blueberry industry in Florida through research and cross-breeding to target certain varieties that can be grown here. I know citrus growers are licking their chops to get a new crop since citrus greening has decimated the citrus output in the state. I'd be interested to see any home growers' success.
I've been able to grow cascade somewhat reliably. Doesn't come back the next year as the rhizome needs much colder winters than we get here in FL.
U of F is already on top of it. They have already had crops that have been used by FL brewers. I want to say Wayne Wambles posted on his FB page one time that he was at the farm looking for hops to use at CCB. http://allaboutbeer.com/florida-looking-next-hops-powerhouse/ from 2016
They have been inviting many industry people(both brewing industry and farmers) out to see the farms so I see waves of posts pop up on social media. Redlight in Orlando just did a release with hops from them. Not huge farms but more of many hop varieties setup in different ways to see what works best. Think they are coming up on year 3(?) of data. It's a cool project and will be interesting to see it develop over the years.
