ABV magazine Fall 2017

NEWS AND NOTES \ WHAT’S ON TAP
beer
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA GROWN AND RAISED
At its high point in the 1920s, there were over 11,000 acres of hops in Sonoma
and Mendocino counties. Contra Costa’s Pleasanton was home to the largest
hop farm in world, with over 1,900 acres. Today, sadly, there are only 130 acres,
in the entire state of California!
photo courtesy san jose brew and bike
The NorCal Hop Growers Alliance hopes to increase those hop-growing
numbers. Formed to help small-scale hop farmers, many members of the nonprofit
have begun cultivating hops from wild vines leftover from the hop yards
of yore. “I have 100 vines that I propagated from a heritage hop I found growing
along the Russian River near a vineyard,” says Paul Hawley, co-founder of the
Alliance and owner of Fogbelt Brewing. They hope to provide breweries and
homebrewers not only with freshly dried hops, but to revitalize the use of wet
hops in local brewing as well.
www.norcalhopgrowersalliance.org
$7 .2
billion
THAT’S BILLION. WITH A “B.”
That’s how much the craft beer industry
contributed to California’s economy back in 2015.
Paul Hawley with a a hop rhizome that was dug up
and propagated from wild vines growing along the
Russian River.
www.abvmagazine.com 7