Five acres is a fair size (hop crop) for Wisconsin now.” Fulwiler might not be in the hop-growing vanguard, but a few dozen farmers like him have returned to a crop that was synonymous with Wisconsin agriculture 150 years ago. ... “All the hops we use are growing in Wisconsin.Jul 17, 2017
Farmers, processors reviving Wisconsin hops industry
https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/.../farmers...wisconsin-hops.../464610001/
https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/money/2017/07/17/farmers-processors-reviving-wisconsin-hops-industry/464610001/
Exploring the history of the Wisconsin Hop Craze
Beth Dippel, For USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin Published 2:46 p.m. CT April 21, 2017
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An image of hop picking near Loganville, Sauk County about 1900.(Photo: Submitted)
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No matter where you look today, as we get smarter about making food choices, we see the movement back to real food.
Whether it’s called whole, sustainable, locally sourced or fresh, it’s a good thing. Included in this renaissance of better living is the explosion of craft beer options. And part of craft beer is a spicy little rhizome called a hop.
Rhizomes are underground stem systems that put out shoots that migrate upward to create vines. Robust perennials, hop vines are capable of growing up to 12 inches a day under ideal conditions.
First appearing as a salad option nearly two thousand years ago in Egypt, they were cultivated in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands as one of four allowable ingredients defined in the German Beer Purity Laws of 1516; the others being water, barley and yeast.
England’s golden age of hop growing spanned the 1800s when the iconic oast houses of Kent appeared and advertised the success of the industry. An oast house or hop kiln was a building designed for kilning or drying hops as part of the brewing process. Beautiful examples of vernacular architecture, they were found in most hop-growing areas and today are used as homes in Kent, Surrey and East Sussex.
The Old Canfield Hop House, once located outside of
The Old Canfield Hop House, once located outside of Baraboo, Sauk County, which was a big hop producing area. (Photo: Submitted)
Now, what exactly do hops do? The Short and Bitter History of Hops reports, “Hops actually have a relaxing quality about them, mostly due to the chemical dimethylvinyl carbinol. They were used to treat anxiety, restlessness and insomnia. A pillow full of hops was at one time a common remedy for sleeplessness. In fact, workers in hop fields were often known to tire out much more quickly than other farm workers, probably due to the transfer of the hop resin through the skin or mouths of the workers.”
Hops make beer last longer and keep from spoiling. The lupulin in the hops serves as a preservative. Hops also add stability to beer due to their antibacterial properties. The flavoring and aroma are an added bonus.
James Coolidge, a Madison County, New York farmer, is thought to have planted America’s first field of commercial hops in 1808. Initially, he supplied hops for home breweries. But, in 1816, he took his hops to the New York City market, and soon after fields began appearing in Oneida, Otsego, Chenango and Schoharie counties.
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