Hop Plant. Photo: OSU South Centers
by Myer Runyan, Sustainable Plant Systems
Over the past couple of years the increase in demand for craft beer has soared. Whenever people go out now it seems that they steer away from the bigger beer names such as Bud Light, Coors, and Miller, and move more towards the local and craft beer selections. Because of this there has been an increase in local brewing operations, which leads to a higher demand for hops. According to an article from the Ohio Farm Bureau “Hopping in Ohio”, the number of microbreweries jumped from 58 to 93, with about 30 more in the planning process.
The purpose of hops in beer is to “balance the sweetness of malt in beer” (Graves 1). This is the first time that hops has made a comeback in about 100 years in Ohio because of Prohibition and also insects and mildew were a problem before they were moved to the Pacific Northwest. It excites me to see business like this moving back into the state. It will open up another market for people to get involved in, in both the growing, brewing, and selling of the hops and beer.
The government also seems to support the growing business. Graves states in her article that the fee to get a license to brew has been lowered, as well as allowing businesses to open a tap room where the beer can be consumed in the same place without having to pay for another license. I fully support the growing of this business and am excited to see what it can grow into. I might even consider starting a small operation myself in the future.
Reference
Hopping in Ohio by Amy Graves, Ohio Farm Bureau
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This blog post was an assignment for Societal Issues: Pesticides, Alternatives and the Environment (PLNTPTH 4597). The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the class, Department of Plant Pathology or the instructor.