by Markby Mark E. Lasbury for Indiana On Tap
A unique collaboration in craft beer is bringing together some Indiana craft breweries, an Indiana hop farm, and an Indiana innovation farm for a world premier this week. This beer is made with a completely new hop variety, native to Monroe County Indiana, and just recently cultivated commercially for the first time.
Clearview Farm in northern Monroe County (near Bean Blossom Creek) has developed an Indiana adapted hop variety based on a more than 100 yr. old cultivar. Owners Mike Baker/Beverly Baker and Travis Wade bought the farm from Baker’s grandparents and found that they had previously grown hops for decades. After ending the commercial hops, some of these perennial bines continued to grow each, becoming naturalized and basically heirloomed.
The Bakers and Wade found near a barn that what had been planted as CVC hop all those years ago was still growing and doing well, meaning that it was well adapted to Indiana climate and soil. Taking this idea and running with it, they started CV Hops, LLC to start commercializing this and other possibilities. They had the DNA of their original hop choice tested and they came back unique amongst all the known hops in the world.
Intrigued by the results and possibilities, Clearview Farm reached out to Mike Hanley of Hanley Hops, LLC on the far southeastern edge of Indianapolis to grow their now patented hop. Mike has the experience of growing commercial hops each year, and he agreed to expand the number of bines in a controlled hop-growing field with trellises and strings for maximum growth.
What is now called the CV-12 hop bines turned out to grow VERY well, indeed, under these conditions. In fact, Mile said they are so robust and hearty that he needed to alter their procedures for processing them just to get them through the harvester (see image of CV-12 above, image credit to Clearview Farm).
The many years of wild growth and adaptation changed the hop characteristics and made them a great choice for Indiana beers. They moved from more of a European noble hop to more of an American Pacific Northwest-like hop, exemplified by Cascade, Citra, Simcoe hop – from a bittering hop to a bittering/flavoring/aroma hop. The original beer made from a small batch of the cones a few years ago as the crop was being expanded showed floral, citrus, pine, and spice notes, with alpha acids in the 4-8% range, a measure that is still be honed in on.
Now that Hanley has produced a full crop (and still expanding), it’s time to make some beer and let the people have their say. Bloomington Brewing Company, the maker of the original test batch of beer with the hop while it was still be tested for its commercial potential, is presenting a Bryton Sylvester brewed CV-12 beer (perhaps a take on the Quarrymen Pale Ale), and they are having a private tasting event this Wednesday evening at Lenny’s Brewpub in Bloomington.
But don’t worry, you’ll get to try beer hopped with CV-12 as well. Lou Krempel at Hog Molly Brewing in Columbus is doing his second batch of his Gloves Off Nordic Golden Ale with the new hop, replacing the original Hanley Hops Crystal variety. Mike Baker (a different Mike Baker) at Shale Creek Brewing in Franklin is producing a batch of his Tipsy Blonde, using the new hop in place of the Hanley Hops Crystal variety.
In addition, the Indianapolis Brewers Union (IBU) homebrew club is doing some extensive testing of possible with CV-12, with several club members doing different styles of beer to see just how broad the spectrum of uses for this hop may be. I hope they have a tasting for these, I am more than intrigued.
Congratulations to Hanley Hops, Clear View Farms, and Bloomington Brewing for this step forward in Indiana craft beer. We look forward to trying all the beers made with this new hop. We also will be looking for a snappy, Hoosier-centric name for the hop; somehow CV-12 just doesn’t seem to give this hop its due.
