The practical application of scientific principles to the art of hop agriculture and brewing science
We’re going back to school! Gregg presents James with a series of problems in the hop yard during a virtual walk-through of nutrient deficiencies, pest infestations and general issues in an imaginary hop yard that hopefully doesn’t look like yours.
So….he’s back. If you enjoyed our first conversation with Dan Dettmers about hop drying you’ll love this one. If you didn’t, well…I’m not sure what to say. Dan takes his shoes off and we get more specific about dryer designs including a discussions on bed depth, pressure drop and using concrete blocks as air filters.
The bines are climbing, sidearms reaching, cones starting to burr. It looks like a hop yard! But what’s that lingering tickle at the back of your brain? Perhaps it’s the question of whether your hops have a home after harvest. This week we take a step out of the dirt and back into the business […]
Join us with special guest Dan Dettmers as we discuss the importance of drying your hop crop. Improper drying can lead to quality loss, mold, processing nightmares and so many other issues which will prevent your hard work from getting into your favorite craft beer. The perfectly maintained and harvested hopyard can be destroyed in […]
Ah, dear Mother Nature. There is so much that can go wrong and it’s completely out of our control, whether it’s late season frost, freak hailstorms, desert-like conditions and other madness. While you can’t predict these events and certainly can’t prevent them, what can you do to mitigate the damage and understand the path forward? […]
Just turn on the sprinklers and your hops are set for water, right? Wrong! Bring your calculators for some heavy math. Too little water is bad, but so is too much and we get into lots of fun stuff like foliar feeding, turgor pressure and my personal favorite, root hair death. Plus we take a […]
Do you pay an extra $0.30/lb for organic bananas as you’re walking through the supermarket? Why? What does “organic” really mean from an FDA perspective and how does it impact your hop yard processes? To the end consumer, does this really matter and do they really know what they are getting? Plus, we have a […]
Pop in your headphones, put on your gloves and get out to the farm to remove weeds while you listen to us tell you all about it. It’s not fun and not cheap, but it’s a critical and often overlooked part of your hop yard life cycle.
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”. Sure, but if the packaging on the rose doesn’t entice you to walk out of the store with it you’ll never know that you just missed out on a great product. Hint: I’m not really talking about flowers. This week we’re joined by Cody Fague […]
If you’re a home-brewer daydreaming about opening your own brewery or a startup-in-progress, this one’s for you. We’re with the owners of Reverie Brewing Co in Newtown CT (https://reveriebrewing.com/) who opened just under two months ago. They talk about expectations vs reality, collaborating with local businesses and the mix of styles in the tap room. […]