Craft brewers create demand for local hops

Increasing popularity of crafted beers has set the stage for an offshoot industry that is literally taking root locally — and across the state.

Startup microbrewers are having a tough time finding hops, a key ingredient that produces the flavor and aroma in beer, said Chris Johnson, brew master at People’s Brewing Co. in Lafayette.

People’s has secure contracts with suppliers in the Pacific Northwest and around the world, he said.

But Johnson and other brewers want to strengthen the state’s craft beer industry by building a network of high-quality hop growers in Indiana.

“At the Brewers of Indiana Guild we’re trying to get Purdue involved in the industry,” Johnson said. “A hop variety that grows out west may not have the same profile when it’s grown in Indiana.

“Part of the research is figuring out which ones are desirable, and grow well here, and teaching farmers how to grow the crop.”

Only a handful of Hoosiers are raising hops, but there is plenty of interest in learning about the crop, Purdue University researcher Lori Hoagland said.

More than 200 farmers and brewers last week attended a workshop, and toured a pilot crop of 10 hop varieties that Hoagland and her research assistant, Natasha Cerruti, planted at Purdue’s Meigs farm in southern Tippecanoe County.

The vines can grow 18 to 20 feet tall, require a sturdy trellis system, well-drained soil and are labor intensive, Hoagland said.

“We selected varieties based on popularity among microbrewers, and varieties that have done well in Michigan and Minnesota,” she said.

“We’ll see which ones perform well in our climate, which ones are disease resistant and which ones produce the desired flavors.”

The harvested cones will be sent to a Purdue food science lab, which will evaluate the levels of alpha and beta acids, and essential oils that produce the aroma and flavor, Hoagland said.

Hops were grown in the Midwest and New York state prior to the 1900s, but the plants were susceptible to downy mildew.

“Due to the advancement in chemicals, and more disease resistant varieties it can be possible to grow hops here again,” Cerruti said.

Sunday was harvest day at HopKnoXious Farms just outside West Lafayette.

Cousins Koh Knox, and Kyle Taylor assessed their inaugural crop of 850 vines planted on one acre.

About 30 family members and friends picked 80 pounds of mature cones from two of the four varieties of hops they planted, Taylor said.

“The harvest looks promising, especially for our first year,” she said.

“The cones look healthy, and green, and they smell good, too. Kind of like an IPA, a citrusy beer.”

One variety was more susceptible to inch worms, so they may plant more of a heartier variety next year, Taylor said. And, they may expand to another two acres.

The next steps depend on feedback from HopKnoXious Farms’ first customer, Johnson at People’s Brewing Co.

“We’ll talk with the brewer after the finished product is ready, and see what he would like,” she said.