The lead story in the latest issue of All About Beer magazine is titled “Hop Forward: Breeding Tomorrow’s Hops Today.” The current Brew Your Own magazine has an article on “Aroma Hop Breeding.” Earlier this year, Beer Advocate magazine put “The Future of Hops” on its cover. And yesterday, Tony Magee at Lagunitas tweeted: “Who [...]

This sign hangs (on several walls) at the Segal Hop Ranch in Grandview, Washington (Yakima Valley).

Just how much longer until Hibiscus Wit is declared an official World Beer Style? MateVeza Morpho Herbal Ale is the latest yerba mate beer from MateVeza and pours a distinct shade of pink. I’m wondering if Hamburger Mary’s in Chicago will bring its Hibiscus Wit to the Great American Beer Festival next week. There are [...]

Notice a trend here? In 1911, exactly one hundred years ago, world consumption of hops was 0.63 pounds per hectoliter (0.54 per barrel), amounting to 12.6 grams of alpha per hectoliter. The best comparison going forward is grams of alpha per hectoliter, rather than bulk, because of the advent of high alpha hops and the [...]

These hops will be headed from Germany to St. Louis soon enough, although not in this form. More about that below. Last month Tony Redsell, who is now in the midst of his 63rd hop harvest, interrupted our conversation to answer a phone call. He patiently and quickly explained the basics of hop harvest, both [...]

The guest rooms at Brauerei und Gasthof zur Krone in Tettnang in the southwest of Germany are thoroughly modern, with hardwood floors, whitewashed walls and sleek amenities; yet properly spare. The building, on the other hand, has been around since before the last Montfort, Count Anton IV, lived here in the 18th century. The Tauscher [...]

I’m not sure if “A Practical Treatise on Brewing, and on Storing of Beer; Deduced from Forty Years Experience” by William Black, published in London in 1835 will make the bibliography for “For the Love of Hops,” so I am passing along this little story now. It comes from a short chapter called, “The Flavour [...]

The Tettnang hop growing in the southwest of Germany. (And the photo that has replaced one taken along the Beartooth Highway leading into Yellowstone as my desktop background.) More next week, but if you’re of a mood to consider terroir Zac Early has a “new, looser interpretation” (music included).

Did I mention the Edelstoff from Augustiner was from the wood, and a lot cheaper than beer at Oktoberfest in Munich? Last week Veronika Springer was crowned Hallertau Hop Queen (Hopfenkönigin) for 2011-2012. I didn’t vote for her, but she received 62 percent (1,478) of the votes. The Wolnzach Volkfest tent was rocking, packed with [...]

This is the view from the first (remember, on this side of the Atlantic the ground is 0 and the first floor one above it) story of a pretty typical hop drying barn in Spalt, Germany’s oldest hop growing region. Hops, trees, enchanting village . . . there’s a lot more to Bavaria, but I [...]