<\/p>\n
More than 50 pounds of hops was recently harvested from the grounds at Old Fort Lewis near Hesperus. A portion of those fragrant cones will soon be poured at Carver\u2019s Restaurant & Brewery.<\/p>\n
Carver\u2019s head brewer Jeff Albarella and his team recently concocted four five-gallon single-hopped pale ales using a pound each of Crystal, Nugget, Chinook and Cascade hops harvested from the Old Fort in August. A tasting is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Dec. 5. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the three-year hop research project.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only variable between the beers is the hop variety used,\u201d said Albarella.<\/p>\n
Albarella added that the base beer is 6 percent alcohol by volume with generous hop additions both at the end of the boil and in dry hopping to maximize the flavor and aroma of each variety.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have any fancy names,\u201d he said. \u201cThe beers will be identified by the variety of hop that was used.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hop researcher Amber Beye was excited to partner with Carver\u2019s. In addition to enabling people to sip the four beers side-by-side as a type of learning experience, Beye said the event would also serve as a means to promote local hops and the research being conducted at the Old Fort Lewis Field Station.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is part of a three-year agricultural research project to determine the commercial viability of hops in Southwest Colorado,\u201d said Beye.<\/p>\n
According to lab analysis, the 11 varieties grown at the Old Fort met or exceeded beer industry standards.<\/p>\n
\u201cPractically speaking, local hops will not be a large part of our arsenal at Carver\u2019s until they are available in pelletized form,\u201d he said. \u201cUntil then, wet-hopped beers are the likely end product.\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking forward, Albarella is optimistic, but says the economics involved would be the critical aspect. He\u2019s curious about local price competitiveness and the market for beers produced with locally grown hops.<\/p>\n
\u201cWill customers be willing to pay more for beers produced with them?\u201d Albarella posed. \u201cIf not, then it wouldn\u2019t make sense for brewers to pay more for them either. It will be interesting to gauge public interest at the tapping party.\u201d<\/p>\n
Riff Raff Brewing Co. in Pagosa Springs also received free hops to participate in the research project. Head brewer Randy Schnose said he plans to brew nearly 100 gallons of a single hop amber beer using more than 3 pounds of Columbus\/Tomahawk\/Zeus hops. He\u2019s hopeful the unnamed beer will be ready for consumption in late December or early January.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter seeing the lab analysis of the hops, we are pretty excited to see what becomes of the beer,\u201d said Schnose.<\/p>\n
While the numbers were impressive, Schnose said that the flavor and aroma the hops impart remain unknown until brewing.<\/p>\n
\u201cOverall, we are really excited to be part of this project,\u201d he said. \u201cWe like the idea of sourcing locally whenever possible, and the results of this project will hopefully have a positive influence on the availability of local hops in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Duwayne Jackson, owner a newly opened nano-brewery in Mancos, also received 1.5 pounds of the whole loose-leaf hops from the project. He had yet to even open the sealed hop bags as of last week, saying that his 15-gallon recipes were based on pelletized hops.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m stoked they are doing the research project, but with such a small brewery I have to make sure my products are consistent,\u201d said Jackson.<\/p>\n
Jackson said he hopes to perhaps create a \u201cone-off\u201d recipe utilizing the donated hops, but he hasn\u2019t had time to develop a specialty recipe. He added that if a hop co-op could be formed to transform the whole hop cones into pelletized form, he and other area brewers like Albarella would be more likely to hop aboard. (Mobile hop pelletizers are estimated to cost upward of $40,000).<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a strong niche in craft brewing for fresh hops,\u201d said Jackson. \u201dI\u2019ll do what I can to help.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to brewers, researchers also provided about 3 pounds of Teamaker, a hybrid high-aroma hop variety, to the Osadha Herbal Wellness Center in Durango to produce an alternative medicine hop tincture. Hop tinctures sale for $10 or more per ounce. An ounce of hops can produce up to 5 ounces of extract.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never used the Teamaker variety before, but I really love its aroma,\u201d said owner Anna-Marija Helt.<\/p>\n
Helt explained that hop tinctures benefit the digestive system. She uses them for their calming effects.<\/p>\n
\u201cHop tinctures serve as a natural sedative,\u201d said Helt. \u201cI\u2019m scared of flying, so they help me relax.\u201d<\/p>\n
While advocates like Jackson\u2019s idea for a Four Corners hop co-op, the crop can require years before production yields are realized. Beth LaShell, coordinator of the $40,000 research project, said hop vines were slow to mature, adding that researchers were unable to harvest any hops last year, the first of the three-year project.<\/p>\n
\u201cYear three, four, five \u2013 that\u2019s when you start to see good production,\u201d said LaShell.<\/p>\n
Hop vines produce fragrant flowers called cones, which include sticky oils that impart flavor and serve as a natural preservative in beer.<\/p>\n
Old Fort Lewis, six miles south of Hesperus, sits at 7,600 feet above sea level. The center receives an average of 18.5 inches of precipitation annually. The research plot is irrigated.<\/p>\n
A few of the hop plants that went into the ground last summer at the Old Fort didn\u2019t return this year.<\/p>\n