Hopping the Garden
Last week we announced the Urban Hops Project, the NYBG‘s momentous partnership with The Bronx Brewery, our borough’s up-and-coming beer craftsmen hailing from none other than nearby Mott Haven. This week we’re talking hops on a deeper level, engaging a bit of the chemistry that makes these subtle green flower clusters so integral to what reaches your bottle, can, or keg. And with so many craft brewers cropping up in the United States over the last decade, there’s good cause for bringing the all-important perennial, Humulus lupulus, back to New York.
Surprisingly enough, we’re far from the first folks to envision hop fields in the Empire State. The hop-growing tradition in New York is about as long as the state’s history, having been farmed for generations. In fact, our state was the largest hop producer in the U.S. through much of the 19th century. But, as almost any high-falutin beer commercial will tell you, the popular origin of the industry lies in Germany.
It was in Europe around the 11th century that the bright green flower clusters, known as cones, were discovered to be a viable ingredient in beer (though it took until the 14th century to popularize them). Until then, these climbing plants were considered “wicked” weeds in certain nearby nations such as Britain. Medieval takes on beer were instead made with herbs and flowers like dandelion, marigold, ground ivy, and stinging nettle; a weird flavor pack by modern tastes, but effective. Even more popular was the minty and aromatic herb alecost, thought to alleviate chest pain and fever, or gruit, a combination of rosemary, yarrow, and other ingredients that fell into obscurity after the hop found its footing.
In practice, none of these herbal ingredients were fool-proof when it came to staying power. Many herbal beers were prone to spoilage early in their shelf life, owing to the weak antimicrobial properties of the ingredients. The discovery of hops’ novel talent, then, would go on to turn the entire industry on its ear. So much so that Bavarian royalty enacted the Purity Law of 1516–or Reinheitsgebot–limiting the legal ingredients in true beer to barley, water, and hops. Today, these regulations live on in the Provisional German Beer Law, which is only slightly more lax on what German brewers can and cannot do in creating “real” beer.
Hops are trained to grow up strings in bines, devoting their energy to flower production rather than self-supporting structure.
The hop went above and beyond its vegetal forebears with a chemical composition fine-tuned for brewing the most popular drink on the planet. And acids are to thank–alphas and betas, specifically. Along with notching up the flavor and aroma of the brew, these acids lend certain qualities to the staying power of the beer. Alpha acids not only foster the thriving growth of brewer’s yeast, so central to the process of making beer delightfully alcoholic, but they ward off the presence of unwanted microorganisms at the same time. This makes the hop a stabilizer, keeping the beer from “going off” before it reaches the tap row of your local bar. Then there’s the taste.
Hops high in alphas add a touch of bitterness to beers that can be used to balance out other flavors. It’s what makes “hoppy” beers so “hoppy.” And if you’ve ever had the privilege of downing a high-quality craft IPA (India Pale Ale), you’ll know what I’m talking about–a certain spicy, biting note to the beer that some brewers will emphasize above all else. A confident aficionado might even tell you that you can best experience the hoppiness of your beer not on the sip, but on the burp. Maybe an uncouth solution to taste-testing, but that tingle in your nose speaks volumes of what went into your suds.
The beta acids, in turn, have a very different effect on the final outcome of the beer brewed. With a limited influence on desirable flavors, they instead push aroma to transcendent heights. This makes for an interesting effort mapping out the two acid concentrations to come up with the concoction you want.
Finding the desirable pitch is the driving factor behind the many varieties of this climbing perennial that have taken root over the centuries, often with specialized breeds being raised for individual styles of beer. Noble hops, for example, encompass the four cultivars of central European hop that make for the low bitterness, high aroma lagers common on the continent. And the process by which you add the hops is even more complicated. Dry, wet, early in the boil or late–with all the variables in the science of brewing, making a truly good beer is no game of lazy dabbling.
Add in factors like essential oil concentrations and soil conditions, and you have what is truly an artisan’s trade. But it also makes for a rich horticultural tradition behind that cold, foamy mug sitting in front of you at happy hour.
Here at the NYBG’s Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, and in community plots across the Bronx, we’re in the process of raising what are known as Cascade hops, a distinctly American cultivar with genetic roots in England and Russia. Created in 1972, the breed has become the core ingredient of some pretty reputable U.S. craft brews, and its hardiness paired with a potent balance of both flavor and aroma makes it the natural choice to represent a truly original Bronx beer. In creating a masterpiece, it’s a good idea to work from the strongest foundation you can, and American tastes are shifting to bolster that attitude.
“American views on beer are clearly changing,” notes Damian Brown, Master Brewer with The Bronx Brewery. “Consumers are trading their mass-produced domestics and imports for craft beer, and more and more breweries are coming into the fold to supply that beer. There are now over 2,000 breweries in the U.S.–the highest number since Prohibition.”
While a bushel of Belgian hops will get the job done, and admirably so, we think great New York beers deserve great New York hops. After all, it was only a century and a half ago that the Empire State was the top producer in the United States–we’re anxious to get back in the game! That’s why hop farms are springing up throughout mainland New York. And the Urban Hops Project is one more piece of the puzzle, albeit with plenty of city flair. Keep an eye out for more news on our beer brewing adventures with The Bronx Brewery, the Cornell Cooperative Extension, and the best urban gardeners in the Boogie Down!
Photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
