Indie Hops Organics Update: 2012 Will Be a Big Year for the Big O

Organic hops got a boost recently when the USDA ruled that beers labeled “organic” must use organic hops by January 1, 2013. Many brewers are concerned that the organic supply will fall short of the demand. Here’s an update on what IH is doing to help supply and enhance that demand.

Indie Hops began growing organic hops last year. At Goschie Farms, we currently have 12 acres established on acreage that will be certified organic for the 2012 harvest. Of those acres, ten (10) are Cascades and two (2) are Centennial. Last year, an abnormally long and wet Spring triggered a downy mildew breakout. Fortunately, the DM spores did not strike our organic fields. Whew!

We will be planting additional acreage in 2011 on Goschie Farms as follows:

3.2 acres Centennial
3 acres Newport (15% AA, 50% Magnum parentage, CoH 38, 2.0 oil, good storage, Resistant to DM)
3 acres Perle (9% AA, 28 coH, 1.1 oil, very good storage, resistant to DM)
1 acre Fuggle (6% AA, 27 CoH, .6 oil, DM Tolerant)

All of the above varieties from our 22.2 total organic acreage will be available in 2012. Our pellet mill will also be certified organic for converting the 2012 harvest into pellets. We are pleased to note that organic hops won’t need to be trucked from Oregon farms to Yakima to be pelleted and then trucked back to Oregon brewers. Our Big O hops will be both green and greenhouse friendly.

Low Trellis, High Plant Strength

Gayle Goschie, our hop whisperer, is excited about her decision to string the organic hops on a low trellis. Organic hops face all sorts of disease and pest pressures. The best bulwark against nasty invaders is a healthy plant with a strong root system (and of course a monsoon-free spring!)

By using low trellis, we will not cut the bines at the base during harvest. The picker will strip the cones and leaves from the sidearms, but let the remaining “stripped hop skeleton” live on for another two months. During that time, the nutrients and carbohydrates in the bines will continue to nourish the root system, making for a hardier plant the following season. When the bines dry out, they will be cleared.

Hope Springs Eternal but Cross Fingers

2010 was a wet year – Biblically wet. Add moisture and warmth to soil and you have a fertile soup for mildew. Last year, we waited until mid-May for the ground to dry up before planting our Cascades and Centennials. The strategy paid off, as so far our fields look great, with the caveat that our vigilance must step up as the rains begin to recede in the Willamette Valley as the sun breaks out and the soil warms up.

To be safe, we will be planting our additional ten organic acres (Centennial, Perle, Newport and Fuggle) also in mid May. At present, our wonder weeds are getting stronger in a cool greenhouse. Later on we’ll transfer them a shade house before planting in the ground.

We’re optimistic, but crossing our fingers, toes and legs that the Spring will be dry enough so that Gayle “the Hoptomist” can walk the fields and spot treat any pest or mildew sightings. Last Spring was so wet Gayle couldn't get her tractors out to aerate the soil as often as she wanted.

One thing’s for sure, we’ll have plenty of pretty photos of our organic yards this summer. Between the hop rows Gayle will be planting vetch, an excellent nitrogen-fixing legume that bears lovely lavender flowers.

The Price is Right, We Think

The first question brewers are asking is whether the variety they want will be available. The second question is how much more will they cost than conventional hops?

We chose the varieties that we think have good disease resistance (Centennial will be the biggest challenge) and strong demand by brewers. We confess that we struggled with how to price our future organic hops. Clearly, the establishment and production costs have been greater than conventional crops. It takes three years for the acreage to transition from conventional to organic. Because of the pest and disease threats, the yields will likely be significantly lower. And processing will be more labor extensive, as well need to purge our clean, green pellet mill of any conventional hop residue.

So what do we do? How about, hmmm, the honest and right thing? We talked to both our grower and to potential brewer customers. In the end, we decided on an adjustable formula that ties the price to the yield. The higher the yield, the lower the price. On the flipside, after setting a fixed maximum price, the lower the yield, the higher the price.

We’re All in this Together

Our philosophy in setting the price is simple: we’re all in this together. This is a time of transition. Organics are no longer a fad, as consumers have begun to embrace the environmental and health benefits of synthetics-free foods. But to get to that point where the price gap between organic and non-organic hops narrows, the farmers will need to get it right. That takes time, trial and error, persistence and luck.

Here’s what we came up with: a maximum “worst case scenario” price per pound has been set at $18.00. That way a brewer knows that even in an extremely low yield situation there is a ceiling to what they need to pay for organic hops. The table below shows the price decreases as yields go up. Hey.... those prices look better than conventional hop prices during recent years!

Our agreement with the farm is that revenue from organic hop sales will first go toward covering the farms costs of organically cultivating the 20+ acres of hops. Once the farms costs are covered, the sales go toward covering the smaller IH direct costs of processing and handling. With direct costs covered for both parties, any additional sales revenue will be split 50/50 since we have shared the costs of establishing the organic acreage over the four years prior to the first certified organic harvest.

Yield per Acre (lbs.)     Wholesale Price/lb.
Less than 750 lbs.             $18.00
750-849 lbs.                     $17.50
850-999 lbs.                     $17.00
1000-1199 lbs.                 $16.00
1200-1399 lbs.                 $15.00
1400-1599 lbs.                 $14.00
1600 and above                $13.00

Brewers interested in planning ahead for some of their organic hops needs are encouraged to come visit this year to see the progress of the crop themselves. We also encourage you to contract ahead for greater security of supply.

We of course remain encouraged by Gayle’s optimism. We’re also buoyed by the slow but steady progress by “chemical companies” to ramp up production on organic compounds to control the undesirable pests, weeds and mildews.

Let's raise a pint to insecticidal soaps, fish oils, garlic extracts, biopesticides and plant and soil boosters! May the salubrious lady bugs and the pernicious aphids find a happy balance. As for mildew, can we please have more sun and less rain this Spring? And, if not, a note to the nasty mildew spores: may Gayle find you and give you a farewell squirt of hot copper.

RGW
4/2/2011

For an excellent article on the challenges faced by organic hop growers, please read the April 2011 issue of The New Brewer, “ New Rules for Organic Hops: Time is of essence for brewers, growers.” Click here.

Thanks for Stopping By!



Matt Sage dealing the green gold

San Francisco CBC. Our first show and Jim, Matt and I had a blast. Non stop fun, action, beer, laughs and food. Haven't had so much fun indoors since the time my Mom dropped me off at the State Theatre in Corvallis, Oregon on a dark, rainy day and I got to watch "Swiss Family Robinson" for 7 straight hours.

We had the pleasure of talking with brewers from Anchorage to Atlanta and from Portland, Maine to San Diego. Wherever they were from, a few common themes emerged.

Brewers understood the importance of keeping publicly owned varieties alive and well. Many a woe was expressed about the undersupply of privatized hop varieties to which the bereft brewer had become "addicted."

Brewers also understood that they could exert control over their future hop supply with reasonable and fair contracts. The days of living off the scraps that dropped from the tables of the big brewers are long gone. As one brewer put it, "Contracts have gotten a bad rap because of what happened in 2008 but they're the best bulwark against radical swings in supply and price."

We heard about one merchant offering a brewer Cascades for under $3 per pound. Three dollars a pound?!? For artisan aroma hops? Three dollars a pound is well below the costs of production and processing. It's a price so outrageously below market one is forced to ask whether the merchant is dumping hops with the goal of driving out competition.

Just a few years ago merchants were demanding $25 for Cascades. As Matt Sage wisely warned: "If you want to avoid paying $25 for hops, don't pay $3." Makes sense. Negotiate a price that is sustainable for the hop farmer, the hop processor and the brewer. Most brewers get it that quality artisan hops are going to cost more than factory-farm high-alpha varieties.

Roger and the HOP Queen

Had a wonderful time talking about all the good stuff Indie Hops is doing with hop oil maturity studies, oil extraction experiments, organic hop production, and our aroma hop breeding program at OSU. More importantly, I learned more about what keeps brewers up at night. I like to live by the old adage -- ain't no problem we can't solve.

Thanks again for dropping by the Indie Hops booth. It's great to be part of a thriving business that's equal parts inspiration, perspiration, science and spiritual awakening. The best statistic I heard all week is that while Craft is around 5% of the US beer production we produce 50% of the jobs! Very cool.

RGW
3/28/11

Indie Hops Supports Amgen Breakaway from Cancer Walk, Race and Fundraiser

IH is teaming up with our friends at Amgen, Sierra Nevada, and Karl Strauss to support the Breakaway from Cancer (BfC) Dana Point Grand Prix and cancer research fundraiser.

The BfC fundraiser will be held at the Dana Point Yacht Club on Saturday, April 30th. All net proceeds will benefit cancer research and bicycle advocate charities. For details on the fundraiser, and how you can participate, click here.

On Sunday, May 1st, Indie Hops will co-sponsor the Dana Point Grand Prix, which consists of a series of pro-am races criterium races. The highlight of the day, in addition to the kids races, will be the Breakaway Walk. The Walk is open to all cancer survivors, caregivers, and advocates. Far from being a downer, this event will give cancer survivors and loved ones something to cheer about as we celebrate the strength, courage, skill and teamwork it takes to keep cancer at bay.

Speaking of knocking cancer to its knees, as you probably know hops may play a role. Hops contain two major polyphenols, xanthohumol and quercetin. Both “flavonoid” compounds have been shown in benchwork research to induce cell death in various cancer cells in test tubes (in vitro), as well as being strong anti-oxidants.

A bevy of regulations prevent (and rightly so) brewers from touting their beer as a nutritional bulwark against cancer, but there is plenty of research to support the hypothesis that xanthohumol, extracted from humulus lupulin, may have cancer fighting properties.

Note to the gullible – this doesn't mean you can escape cancer by pounding your favorite brew daily. I think you’d have to drink about a keg daily to get a meaningful XN dosage but at that regimen cancer would be the least of your worries. It would be cool, however, to breed a hop high in XN and try to brew a “healthy” beer that actually tasted good.

Go online to the PubMed database and enter “xanthohumol” and “cancer” and 58 articles will pop up which examine xanthohumul’s potential role in guarding against various forms of cancer. Am I saying that we would be better off taking a concentrated capsule of xanthohumol daily? No. But if there was such a capsule, I’d probably take one, just as I take a daily dose of resveratrol, the bioflavonoid from the skin of grapes, another strong anti-oxidant with potential anti-tumorigenic properties.

Whether it’s to support bike racing, a healthy lifestyle or just to celebrate life and have a good time, come on down to the BfC Dana Point Grand Prix. I’ll be working the mic and I may even don the skinsuit to run with the bulls in the masters race.

Thanks again to our friends at Karl Strauss and Sierra Nevada for donating truckloads of beer for the fundraiser and bike racer. On race day, our buddies at the 5th Marine Regiment from Camp Pendleton will be manning the beer tent. Portions of the sale of beer will be donated to the 5th Marine Regiment.

Support Cancer Research, Ride Bikes, Walk the Walk, Drink Hoppy Beer or Die!

RGW
3/21/11

Hop Harvest Time: When and How Do You Know? OSU’s Tom Shellhammer Has A Clue

When is the optimum time to harvest hops for aroma?

How will you know when that optimum has been reached?

Do different aroma oils reach their maximum concentration at different times as the cone ripens?

These are some of the questions that drive Indie Hops to fund hop ‘maturity’ studies at Oregon State University. We are pleased to announce that the results of our first effort to wrestle with this topic will be presented at this year’s Craft Brewers’ Conference in San Francisco by OSU Professor Dr. Tom Shellhammer on Saturday, March 26th.

In late summer and early fall of 2010, Cascade and Willamette hops were collected on three successive weeks at three Oregon locations and analyzed for aromatic compounds by Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry. Thirty-one different GC ‘peaks’ were identified and compared.

In a fortunate coincidence, single hop beers using some of the very same hops were brewed by Deschutes Brewing and later judged by a sensory panel at OSU. This allowed us to relate some of the lab analysis to actual flavor perception in beer, something that will be pursued more fully in subsequent projects.

The complexity of hop aroma is so great that it’s not surprising to find that each attempt to answer one question brings several more to the surface. And although this first study is too limited to produce any grand conclusions, some commonly heard notions about hops now seem to be less certain. If you’re going to CBC, consider attending Dr. Shellhammer’s presentation to judge for yourself.

Perhaps some day we’ll learn that a 5-day difference at harvest can mean the difference between a decent well-hopped craft beer and a remarkable one.

See you at the CBC.

3/21/11

Going Big on my 50th Birthday With Kevin Buckley’s Imperi-Ale 5.0

Whether surfing, snowboarding, mountain biking or drinking IPAs, there’s a fine line between “going big” and taking yourself out.

More’s not always better. Sure, it’s quite a thrill to land that gnarly jump or ride that killer wave, but there’s a point where raising the bar will eventually kill you. Sort of like with imperial IPAs – a bigger IBU doesn't usually translate as a better tasting beer.

With that challenge in mind, I asked my friend Kevin Buckley to work outside his comfort zone and brew a specialty “big beer” for my 50th birthday. Kevin doesn’t normally toil away making gigantic “hop bombs,” but he generously agreed to give it a go.

The marching orders: use all Oregon grown hops supplied by Indie Hops; use about 5 pounds per barrel (to match my 50th), and unleash it on the night of my roast, cold (two months hence). The name: Imperi-Ale 5.0.

Kevin brewed with our Nuggets (13.9% AA, high essential oils), Centennial (11.5% AA, also high in essential oils), and Cascades (8.5% AA) per the following schedule:

First Wort-Nugget 2#
60 min-Centennial 2#
60 min-Nugget 3#
15 min-Centennial 2#
15 min-Nugget 2#
Whirlpool- Centennial 1#
Whirlpool-Cascade 2#
Primary ferm-Cascade 5#
Dry Hop-Cascade 15#
Dry Hop-Centennial 6#
Dry Hop-Nugget 4#

Dry hopping with Nugget? We admired the pluck, but were a bit concerned. Although it’s not uncommon to dry hop with super alphas that also have high essential oil (e.g., Columbus, Magnum, Summit, Simoce), most of said oil consists of myrcene and we were worried about off flavors (cat piss, grassy or machine –yuck!). How would all those essential oils, mainly myrcene in the Centennials and Nuggets, react with the alcohol, Co2, yeast, sugars, and oxygen?

Surprise Surprise! The result was a highly drinkable, well-balanced, pleasantly fruity beer without the sharp bitterness you might expect from a hop-forward ale clocking in at 98 IBU. The 8.7% ABV proved dangerously unnoticeable, as my fired up and emboldened friends lapped it up and proceeded to pound me unmercifully. Hey, like I told my roasters: A true friend will stab you in the front! (quoting Oscar Wilde). It went quickly.

A few of the comments on the Imperi-Ale 5.0 from the not exactly naïve quaffers in the room: a mildly sweet front end with a touch of melon flavor… A clean transition to a gentle bitterness… Moves towards a citrus/spicy note nurtured by a warming bready-toasty character of malt…. Finishes with a crisp melon punch and caramel sweetness, capped by a touch of lingering bitterness…

As Kevin modestly explained: “This brew, while loaded with hops, was designed to be big yet enjoyable for all levels of drinkers. For the extreme hop heads, there are moments when the hop bitterness shines through. For those partial to red/English pales, there’s plenty of body and malt complexity.”

Thanks Kevin. You went Big and we enjoyed the ride. And thanks for experimenting with our Nuggets for dry hopping. It’s a credit to your brewing talents that you were able to land this hugely hopped beer with grace and style (in stark contrast to Mr. Solberg, who after a few hours of steady infusion fell like a Mighty Doug Fir).

Imperi-Ale 5.0 was launched last week and Kevin’s customers are loving it. There’s still a few kegs left, but you should probably beat a hasty path down to Backstreet Brewery in Vista if you want to taste this break out, all Oregon grown hops beer. Hey, to those of you who might’ve stereotyped IH as an aroma only outfit, we can go big with the alpha, too!

Roger Worthington
2/15/2011

Variety, Uniqueness, Consistency

Craft beer thrives in a culture of diversity and adventure. In our own little town of Portland, Oregon, as soon as we reached thirty-some breweries and mumblings of “over saturated” picked up, a dozen more breweries opened up much to the enduring gratitude of happy customers. The growing variety of beers, pubs and breweries is attracting more and more thirsty people everyday.

Perhaps more than any other arrow in the quiver of ingredients, hops cast a spell on brewers and imbibers of American craft beer, tickling the potential for variety and individualism. Their symphony of oils reaches each of us with a unique tone, the crescendo leading some to ecstasy and others to seek refuge. We continue to be amazed at how wildly different educated palates can interpret the same hop.

Last summer a focus group panel was held that illustrates these varied perceptions toward hops. A group of accomplished craft brewers from Oregon tasted a series of single-hopped beers, not knowing what the hop was in the various samples. Descriptors they used to describe the prevailing hop character, and the number of panelists who used that descriptor, are below:

Clearly, one brewer’s nectar can be another’s poison! [One guy’s fruity apple can be another’s cat pee?]

As we’ve striven to learn from brewers how they’d like to see the hop world evolve, this theme of variety, creativity and uniqueness stands out.

Our resident brewer and Brewery Ambassador Matt Sage has recently travelled the craft brewery scenes in Washington State, Oregon, Southern California and Colorado, seeking insights into what brewers are looking for in hops. His findings are as varied as his travels! Click here for a taste of Matt’s curious adventures in the world of hop flavor.

Alongside variety and uniqueness, brewers also care about consistency. After all, when we find something we really like, we want it to be consistent. What can Indie Hops do to help the hop world evolve in a way that craft brewers would like to see? Well...might as well start with variety, uniqueness and consistency!

Click here for a review of a few of the breeding projects underway at Oregon State University that we are spearheading in our quest to probe the mysteries and amplify the wonders of the noble flower.

Cheers!
JS
jim@indiehops.com
2/8/11

Good Times at Karl Strauss’ 22nd Anniversary Party

San Diego. Let’s deal with it: most of us are afraid of stouts. Not because of the taste – in fact, we recoil from the darkish, kawfeeish hell’s brew in spite of the taste. Once we get past the word’s connotation – stout, burly, thick, fire hydrant-ish – and actually taste it, all doubts tends to disappear. Like going into a scary neighborhood and coming out with a new best friend.

I admit to such a bias. Never a fan of the stouts. But then I took the leap (I was pushed) and – Eureka! – I found it. I may have graduated, but not my Darling Wife. She’s cold on kawfee. And she of course assumed dark malted beer tasted like espresso. And then there’s that whole weight thing: drink this and your buttons will pop and your bra will snap.

So it was with great pleasure – like perhaps watching a problem child graduate with honors – that I watched my bethrothed belly up to the Stout line more times than I could count. Thank you Karl Strauss: you’ve shown another lost soul The Light and The Way. And still that girlish figure!

A big shout out to my friends Chris Cramer, Matt Rattner and Paul Segura down at Karl Strauss. We were fortunate to get through the velvet rope for a sampling of KS’ latest barrel aged stouts. Paul is truly breaking out with exciting new recipes that dazzle and delight. We sipped the bourbon barrel blended and unblended vanilla imperial stout and found ourselves inside our favorite confectionaire in Bruges, aglow in the creamy warmth of chocolate, raisins, vanilla and – yes! yes! – coffee.

Turns out the DW can enjoy coffee as long as it’s buttressed with vanilla beans, malt, hops and bourbon barrel aged!

As the band played and strangers became friends and the delicious hors dourves slowly disappeared, it occurred to us that we were having a peak moment inside what amounted to an unheated industrial warehouse. The only pretense of glamour was a red carpet, which was more parody that fashion. The stark surroundings drove home the cliché that great friends, food, beer and music make a great party, not a fancy ballroom or chic nightclub.

And yet… there is talk of remodeling the Karl Strauss brewery, building out a tasting room, adding a patio, and making the brewery a destination spot. As much fun as we had in the unvarnished brewhouse, just imagine the joy of tasting KS’s finest with old and new friends around a fire pit after a walk on the beach or exhilarating bike ride. The brewery is located smack dab on one of the most popular bike routes in San Diego.

I see potential.

RGW

2/7/11