E-Malt.com News article: USA: Hops growing reappears in New York State again

Hops, one of the main ingredients for brewing beer, reappears in New York Sate again. Hops used to be one of the New York State's major crops, but about 50 years ago farmers stopped growing the crop.

"Prohibition was really the final nail in the coffin for hops. We did go through a lot of disease problems with the verticillium, wilt and the molds and fungal attacks, in the early 1900's," said Cornell University agriculture development specialist, Duncan Hilchey.

With help from Cornell University and the Northeast Hop Alliance, the hops industry may be brewing again.

The Pederson Farms in Seneca Castle grew a test plot, and one local brewery can't get enough of them. "There is one grower that we know that is successfully growing hops. And we bought his entire crop last year. I don't know what his numbers were the year before but we bought virtually all of it the year before. And we have committed to buying his entire crop this year which like I said 10 times what he grew last year," said the owner of the Ithaca Beer Co., Dan Mitchell.

Ithaca Brewery Company made a special batch of Double IPA with the hops, and beer drinkers seem to like what they drank.

"It is the second year we have had it out. It is an extremely popular beer. We actually don't advertise it. Don't really push it. All we did this year is is contact the people who sold it last year," Mitchell said.

Mitchell also says he loves the area and would love to see the 100 percent New York State product.

But what will it take for it to get there? "So the advent of the micro brewery and brew pubs in the last ten years is creating a demand for a niche product. That being a beer that had locally produced ingredients. And since we have the history and tradition of growing hops here that may give them an advantage," said HIlchey.

For now, the industry is still growing.


25 May, 2005