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Virginia Protects Beer from Risks of Climate Change

Scientists are warning that climate change could mean higher prices for one of the world’s most popular drinks – beer, but farmers and scientists in Virginia are working to assure a steady supply of one key ingredient.

The Starr Hill Brewery in Crozet is one of more than 42-hundred in the United States.  Last year, the number was up more than 17% as new craft, micro or nano-breweries opened in almost every state. Robbie O’Cain is Starr Hill’s master brewer.

“You know the United States was once seen as this beer wasteland," he recalls. "All the other countries in the world who have rich brewing histories were like, ‘Oh American beer.  It’s terrible.  It tastes like water!’ And now, they’re drawing inspiration from us.”

The key to most craft beers is hops.

“Hops are what we like to call the spice of beer," O'Cain explains.

Starr Hill will use about 40,000 pounds this year to produce pale ales, lagers and stouts – adding aroma and a bitter taste.

“They’re meant for balance, otherwise beer would be pretty sweet,” he says.

But in 2015 some brewers got bitter news – a shortage of hops and higher prices.  Again, brew master Robbie O’Cain:

Robbie O'Cain

  “Last year, Germany had an atrocious growing season.  There was some really bad weather that led to really poor crop yields. Their entire yield was down about 25-30%, which is a big deal. We use those German hops in all of our German lagers, so if that supply gets hit too hard, then we can’t make the beer that we want to here.” 

Fortunately, he says, Starr Hill had contracts locking in supplies and prices for several years.  That’s the norm for most brewers, but new or smaller ones scrambled to find enough of the hops they wanted.

Hops are tiny green cones that grow in clusters from vines strung along poles and wires.  From a distance, you might mistake them for grapes, and like grapes, they’re very particular about where they’ll grow.

Ann George heads the Hop Growers of America – an organization based in the Pacific Northwest, where 97% of America’s hops are grown.  On summer nights, she says, it’s light until at least 10 o’clock.

Blue Mountain Brewery

  “If you look at the major hop growing regions around the world, they’re clustered around the 45th parallel – either northern or southern hemisphere," she says. "That is because of the photosensitivity of the hop plant, and the fact that they will set a much heavier bloom for a much heavier yield the closer you are to the 45th parallel.”

East of the Cascade Mountains in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, the air is dry -- preventing mildew and other fungal diseases from taking hold and destroying the plants, and water needed for irrigation usually flows freely from mountain streams to the Yakima and Willamette Valleys below.

Now, however, climate change is casting a shadow on American growers who produced more hops last year than the world’s long-time leader – Germany.  Ann George says a prolonged drought in the American west has prompted plans for more reservoirs and forced farmers to adopt new techniques that conserve water.

“Through the use of soil sensors and moisture monitoring equipment," George explains, "growers can very carefully monitor the amount of moisture being added to the plant and fine tune that application specifically to what the plant needs at a given point in time and depending on the climatic situation.”

Those farmers have also planted more acres, and while conditions are not ideal, some other states – including Virginia -- are getting into the hops game. Details in our next report.

PART TWO:

Last year, brewers in this country were hit by a triple-whammy – bad weather in Europe, a hike in the price of barley and a shortage of hops – especially the kinds favored by craft brewers.  This year finds Virginia stepping up, with more farmers planting hops, and more scientists in this region looking for ways to grow them here.

va_hops_two_rev.mp3

Stan Driver

Stan Driver grows hops for two breweries in Nelson County, but the man dubbed the godfather of hops in Virginia admits this state is not an ideal place to plant the vines that supply brewers with that essential bitter taste.

“None of the varieties we have were hybridized or bred for this low latitude, and they do not do well. Our yields are very low.” 

Even so, many people in these parts have begun growing hops.  Devon Kistler  is co-owner of Huguenot Hops, a 3-acre farm in Midlothian, and former chairman of the Old Dominion Hops Cooperative

“When I started as chairman we had around 75 members who were active in the coop.  Now we have almost 200 members, and the members are spread across Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland.”

To bolster their business, researchers in Virginia and North Carolina are trying to understand in great detail how hops grow and creating hybrids that might do better in this region, but Kistler says the going is slow.

“They have identified one variety called Canadian Red Vine that grows best, and can yield up to six pounds of wet hops per plan.  The only problem with that is the flavor and the aroma isn’t very appealing to brewers.  They’ve tested it with some brewers down in North Carolina, and it’s not a big hit.”

As they wait for better breeds,  local brewers are capitalizing on the availability of  so-called wet hops – making a special ale with cones fresh from the field.  Here again, Devon Kistler and Stan Driver.

“We can’t ship in wet hops from the Pacific Northwest or New York State very easily, so it makes sense for brewers to use local hops.”

“Using the wet hops is comparable to using fresh herbs versus dried herbs, so when you put those wet hops in beer, you get a blast of aroma.”  

Driver says Blue Mountain, Barrel House and other local breweries that grow this crop find it boosts business.   

“You know we invite the public in to help us pick, and it’s always fun, and we run out of hops to pick – people are unhappy about that," Driver says.

They're rewarded with a free lunch. 

"We can’t give away beer," Driver says, "but they can consume as much as they can pay for.”

Hardywood Park brewery in Richmond has even enlisted its customers to do the growing – giving them pieces of stem – known as rhizomes – and instructing them on how to cultivate the plant in their own gardens.  Those who take part will find their names on the label of local pale ale produced with the hops they deliver.

Paul Gatza who heads the Brewers Association, says his members are learning to work with different varieties of hops and substitutes for another basic beer ingredient -- barley – which could also be hit by droughts, storms and temperature extremes. 

“We do see wheat being used in wheat beers, or in a lot of beers we see wheat being used in a small percentage, but we also do see gluten free beers being made of things such as sorghum or millet.”

And, finally, small brewers are bracing for climate change by creating an online marketplace that buys leftover stocks of hops from big companies and resells them to craft brewers around the world.  

Blue Mountain

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