Move over oranges, there’s a new crop in town! Chalk it up to the popularity of craft beer and the number of craft breweries popping up around the state, interest is now brewing over a viable new crop in Florida – hops.
What are Hops?
Hops are one of the four main staples of beer, along with water, yeast, and barley. For craft beer drinkers, you might know that hops are responsible for the bitterness, flavor and aroma of the beer.
Wop’s Hops in Sanford is just one of the Florida breweries using hops from Central Florida Hops in its brewing process.
If you happen to pass a hops field, you may just do a double-take. At first glance, the plants create the illusion of a lush green wall. Growing 16 to 20 feet long, these green vines reach upward, guided by wires strung along poles. The flowers on the plants are the hops that are used in the brewing process.
But do you know how those hops get into that brew? After they are picked off the vines, they can be used in three ways. First, as wet hops by local brewers. If used this way, they have to be brewed within a day or two of being picked. Another use is as a dried whole-cone hop. These hops are harvested and dried out. The final involves crushing the flowers and pressing them into pellets where they can be stored for a long time. This method is the most user-friendly and widely used because of commercial availability. Each method causes subtle differences in the brewing process and the end result. The opportunity to use fresh hops is creating excitement among the craft brewers who are always looking to brew something just a little bit different.
Hops in Florida
Up until the last few years in the United States, hops fields were mostly found in the Pacific Northwest. Now, they are sprouting up here in our state. Estimates are there are as many as 10 to 15 hops farms in Florida, with the largest currently covering two and a half acres.
Central Florida Hops
Recently, we visited Central Florida Hops in Zellwood. Co-owner Matt Roberts showed us the field located next to Central Florida Ferns where he and his partners Kyle Barrett and Logan Vandermaas are all employed. He said an interest in local craft beer and a desire to do something different led to the new venture.
“The more we researched hops,” he said, “the more we thought this might be doable. It was a challenge for us. A challenge to be able to provide places we enjoy going to with hops. That kind of sealed the deal for us. And the local breweries love the idea of using a local ingredient.”
Our visit happened in January which coincided with the second harvest of the year for Central Florida Hops. Plenty of flowers remained on the vines, although the field had thinned out some due to local breweries and home brewers visiting the field the past week and picking hops for their use. Because it’s never occurred before, a second harvest of hops within a calendar year might just be the innovation that makes hops growing commercially viable in Florida.
Matt agrees and expects that once the market expands, more growers will join in.
“The craft beer scene is what we have to lean on right now and it’s as popular as it’s ever been. You really don’t realize how many hops these brewers use. We can’t touch what they need and probably will never be able to.”
The popularity of craft breweries has led to brew tours.
Hops Research in Florida
Because hops growing is relatively new in Florida, it is still a learning process. Data is limited, expectations are unknown. A lot of what is done is simply trial and error. However, there is some help on the horizon. The Apopka branch of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) was awarded a two-year, $194,000 grant to see which hops varieties will grow in the state. Researchers have already determined Florida days are too short and a hops variety that doesn’t need as much sunlight may be the answer. (In the Pacific Northwest, plants get 15 to 16 hours of daylight during the spring.)
At Central Florida Hops, light interruption from strategically placed light poles worked around that challenge. The lights were turned on at midnight and ran for about an hour and a half. Matt says the idea was to trick the plants into thinking it was a shorter night rather than a longer day. It was an experiment, and some of the plants, like Cascade, reacted very well.
The Florida Difference
Whether it is Cascade or Triple Pearl or Tahoma, hops take on the characteristic of the soil, also known as terroir. These same environmental conditions affect the taste of wine. What is grown in Florida will taste, smell, and act much differently than that grown in other states. Central Florida Hops planted its field on what was once an orange grove. Brewers who’ve used the Cascade from here say there is a more citrus note to the hops.
The Spring Harvest and Beyond
With the initial success in growing their first crop (and second), coupled with the enthusiastic reception by Florida brewers, Central Florida Hops is currently preparing for the spring harvest. The hops plants are the same from crop to crop, but after harvest they are cut off at the base, forcing all new growth. Once the vines grow long enough, they are restrung on the wire supports – which should happen in March for the June harvest. In addition, there are thoughts of expanding from the current quarter of an acre to half an acre. Central Florida Hops looks forward to the increasing excitement of local Florida brewers and coaching them on the use of fresh hops. So be on the look out for Florida hops in the field and in Florida craft brews.
Matt admits year two will be interesting, but says with hops the sky is the limits.
Leave a Reply