<\/p>\n
Cascade. Nugget. Mount Hood. CTZ. Vanguard. Centennial. There are hundreds of hop varieties, but these are among the 11 harvested recently near Hesperus.<\/p>\n
Volunteers gathered at Old Fort Lewis to collect handfuls of hops midway through a three-year agricultural research project aimed to determine the crops\u2019 potential in the area\u2019s arid, high-altitude climate.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a three-year study,\u201d said Amber Beye, who helped secure the $40,000 grant. \u201cWe\u2019re testing 11 different hop varieties.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not growing any of the noble hops, because we know for a fact they don\u2019t do that good out here,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Advocates hope a Four Corners hop co-op could be launched to help offset supply needs of craft and home brewers. Last year, the average U.S. hop price was $3.59 per pound, according to the Hop Growers of America. Hops, or humulus lupulus, are one of four basic ingredients of beer.<\/p>\n
On the south side of the quarter-acre research plot with four trellis rows, the vines grew more than 20 feet high. On the north end, with less shade, the vines were substantially shorter. Soil samples and temperatures readings are part of the 230-vine project.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t understand why,\u201d said Beye. \u201cWe don\u2019t know if it\u2019s a soil thing or a sun thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The project requires 200 grams, about a half-pound, of dry hops to be laboratory tested. Any excess hops have been promised to local craft and home brewers who complete research surveys.<\/p>\n
Since researching and launching the grant, Beye\u2019s interest in hops led her to join the Animas Alers Homebrew Club in Durango. She now serves as the club\u2019s secretary and treasurer. Club member Michael Burr volunteered to help with Sunday\u2019s harvest.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a home brewer,\u201d he said, placing a handful of hops in a brown paper bag.<\/p>\n
His first time in a hop field, Burr said the opportunity afforded an added perspective to his hobby of crafting beer.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy favorite are hoppy beers, like IPA,\u201d said Burr. \u201cI\u2019m in heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year, the project didn\u2019t harvest hops, but scores of vines loaded with fragrant flowers called \u201ccones\u201d were harvested on Sunday. Hops produce sticky oils that impart flavor to beer and serve as a natural preservative. But even under ideal conditions, it can take plants years to mature.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is year two,\u201d explained Beth LaShell, coordinator of the Fort Lewis College agricultural research center. \u201cYear three, four, five \u2013 that\u2019s when you start to see good production.\u201d<\/p>\n
Project manager for the Colorado Department of Agriculture specialty crop grant, LaShell is optimistic the hops can be sent to the lab within a week. Priority is given to commercial operations in the Pacific Northwest, the largest hop-producing region in the U.S.<\/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. A few of the hop plants that went into the ground last summer didn\u2019t return this year.<\/p>\n