Indiana’s first patented variety of hops, one of the main ingredients in beer, will soon go into its first brew.
Mike Baker, an owner of CV Hops, said to expect a first tasting in about a month.
“'Indiana Pale Ale' is what we're going to call it,” he said. “Bloomington Brewing Company right here in Bloomington is working, brewing the beer as we speak. And we hope to be having a public tasting event in the middle of December, where people can come in and try this beer, take a sip, and maybe give us some comments on what they think.”
Baker first discovered the hops growing on his property when he bought it in 1979. Historically hops haven’t grown well in Indiana, which piqued the interest of geneticists out of IU, who set out to learn more about the plant’s genetic makeup. After some breeding, they came up with the new patented strain called CV-12.
“What's unique about CV-12, other than it’s disease resistant, and pest resistant, and that it grows in Indiana, is that the flavor profile… fits right into the target flavor profile of the most popular hops grown in the Pacific Northwest.”
Ninety-eight percent of all hops grown in America come from the Pacific Northwest, where the climate isn’t nearly as harsh. Baker said that combining genes from different hops varieties could allow for a major shift in the brewing industry.
“Our task has been trying to get some interest from some of the larger growers or developers in the Pacific Northwest, or other states in the U.S. to look at us and our genetics to see if there's maybe a potential to sort of change the whole genetic pool of hops,” he said, “and maybe make it available to grow in the Midwest.”
Additionally, Baker said CV-12 may be resistant to powdery mildew, a plant disease that affects about 30 percent of hop plants in the Pacific Northwest.
Source: indianapublicmedia.org
Photo Credit: gettyimages-willhowecreative
Categories: Indiana, Crops