Hoosier Farmers Emerge in the Local Craft Beer Industry

Growers of a different kind gathered at The Glass Barn yesterday to discuss the future of the local food movement. 

More specifically in Indiana these days is the local craft beer movement which is gaining popularity all the time. Yesterday, the Indiana State Department of Agriculture hosted a collaborative discussion between Indiana brewers, farmers and a panel from Purdue University. The idea: to bring local ingredients to these local beers says Michael Wilcox, Economic and Community Development Assistant Program Leader with Purdue Extension. 

“We buy local as far as our beer is concerned, but a lot of people don’t consider the fact that what we’re buying doesn’t necessarily have Indiana-grown ingredients in it. That’s nothing against the brewers. The brewers are creating a wonderful product here in Indiana. We have some of the best beers in the world. What the brewers want to do is begin sourcing their inputs locally as well so it can be truly a local beer.” 

Wilcox says Indiana farmers are beginning to dabble in how to grow hops and barley, but it’s been a hefty challenge. 

“Our challenge right now is that they’re bringing in stock from elsewhere. We need to find a way to see what happens when you grow that stock here in Indiana, what the outcomes are. As the brewers said, a cascade hop is different whether it was grown in Oregon versus grown in Indiana. What are those flavor profiles? What is the chemistry like?” 

A number of Indiana brewers showed up for yesterday’s meeting, expressing interest in using Indiana grown products. Wilcox says while the desire is there, the timeline on this becoming a reality is still a few years off. 

“I think every single producer here today said they’re just kind of testing this. They’re trying to figure out what works. That’s obviously going to take several years. Purdue, as we heard today from the Department of Food Science and Horticulture, we’re ramping things up from the experimental side. So I think you’re probably looking at three to five years here.”