How to pick a brewer-hop breeding issues

[SRB]

....About the 'hop asparagus' - I've heard of some amazingly vigorous growth in female plants (I'm not sure if males taste the same?). Have you eaten either? - supposed to be very nice - I think I read that in UK delis, where you can actually find them - a jar of pickled hop shoots was selling for about £15-20 (c.$30-40)! - not bad if you can do it as a secondary crop....

Hey....that sounds Yummy!

.....Fair enough - & I know my limitations too - I brew & sell beer but through selling beer at local food festivals & now "standing" about 6 farmers' markets a month, I'm meeting local farmers & customers interested in local produce....

We are very much looking forward to setting up a stand in the local farmers markets. Glad to read that you are doing this and enjoying it!

[wildcrafter]

Hops off for the testing!!

Moonlight- thanks for the book tip, I'd love to read it. You're comments about different plants in and out of the cycle reminds me of some topics in a book called "Against the Grain-How Agriculture Has Hijacked Civilization", by Richard Manning. Who knows now if the plants we are breeding and developing will become part of the cycle. It's just that now is the time for brewers to have chance to make a choice in the decision making of what hops you want if the farmer can grow them. Has any brewer ever had much of a hand in deciding what hop they want in a beer from the hop breeding side of the coin?

As always, voting with your own dollar is optional.

Micmac- 8% is the moisture content in my house. There are tests, but I have a moisture meter in house, I have done this before with many herbs, and I know the smell of wet or damp herbs, hops, roots, etc.... Hops are an easy smell. Also, slow drying inhibits case hardening, like in lumber.

The NM hops are now off for testing and into the hands of the hop gods. WOO HOO!!

So far, a few brewers are quite interested, I just need the data before they can formulate the next best brews.

Thanks all!!

[BMOOR]

count me in

I certainly wouldn't mind being one of those interested brewers. We like to experiment with different things and would certainly do some "QC" testing.
Any chance any of your hops get pelletized, or will it be a whole hop situation?
Interested while following the thread,
Matt
Flossmoor Station

[wildcrafter]

Brewers using the NM hops

I sure want to thank everybody for the inputs. I did finally get the data and picked a couple of brewers to test out the NM hops. The alphas came in mostly between 5-7%. I did pick a local brewer in Santa Fe, Brad Kraus, who has been chomping at the bit for a couple of years to get enough NM hops to brew some full 7bbl batches. Here's what Brad did with the NM hops...so far.

Brad's info-

http://www.bluecorncafe.com/brewery.php

Press about Brad's Aztlan Winter Ale

http://appellationbeer.com/blog/monday-musing-whats-the-opposite-of-zima/

And Jason Yester at Trinity Brewing in Colorado Springs is the other brewer that is using the NM hops. Jason is using his Randler with the hops and having some flavorful fun. He even put some of the Dreadlock hops in a cask. Jan 5 and Jan 12 have some tasting opportunities with the NM hops at Trinity Brewing.

http://www.trinitybrew.com/trinity_events.php

So now if you want a chance to taste some of the NM hops, here's a current list of opportunity.

I'm sorry that I didn't have enough hops to get some to everybody--I wish I did have enough. I'll try to spread some around this next year. I do have a couple of QP's if somebody REALLY wants to try, but no real #age.

Thanks to all for the help in picking a couple of ballsy brewers that really are having some fun with the NM hops. Contact them yourselves and see what they think....or better still,,,,stop by and taste some!

Hoppy New Year!!

[krausbrew]

The brewer's perspective

First, I'd like to thank Todd for persevering and giving me the chance to brew with his hops. I'm pleased with the way the first beer turned out and I have more planned. It looks like we'll sell out of the Aztlán Winter Ale just into the New Year, so about three weeks for the 7 barrel batch. Keep in mind it is one beer out of 8 we have on tap.

Finding a brewer isn't that difficult, but finding one that can figure a way to use whole flower hops in their system can be part of the challenge. I was starting this brewery back up after sitting idle for 4 months, so the emphasis was on the standard beers, not specialties, so I had to wait for the time and opportunity to brew, also.

Brewers, for the most part, are nothing if not bold, at least in small breweries. However, to use something new and to some extent untested, does give all but the bravest, or foolhardy, pause. Luckily, I had some of Todd's beers to go on, so I knew the hops were good, though still works in progress.

If we are going to commit to making a full batch, we want some certainty we are going to be able to sell it. For us it is a commitment of time, money, and most of all, valuable production. If we turn out something unsalable, we're down a beer, out of rotation for 2-3 weeks and missing important revenue. Despite our desires to be creative and do wonderful things, we have to watch the bottom line. The trick is making sure they go hand in hand so the latter doesn't supersede the former.

I'll try to post more about the upcoming beers as they take shape and time allows. I also hope to use more ingredients grown here in these beers as well. I'm gratified to be part of a grand experiment and hopefully a boon to New Mexican alternative agriculture. Keep up the good work and keep the faith, Todd!