NY Times article on the revival of hop farmers in NY

Did a search and didn't see if this article had been linked.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/09/dining/hop-farmers-reviving-brewing-in-new-york-state.html?hpw

Not impressed with the "beer sampler" they have at the end of article. What are your thoughts?

Hard not to judge the article from a brewing and brewing history perspective and finding many arguable constructs therein, but all in all articles like this are generally helpful so I'll give the NYT props for finding space for it.

As for the listed beers: "Meh".

Cheers!

Considering the article is basically talking about my back yard, it's great to see more people bringing hop growing and regional brewing back to the area. We are lucky to have such a rich brewing history here in CNY and it would be nice to finally have our beers brewed from local ingredients.

I agree about the hops from this area being very 'grapefruity.' Lots of people find that their Goldings, Fuggles, and more mild flavored hops take on a very strong citrusy, grapefruit character that is more akin to cascade/amarillo. I have some homegrown hops (golding) that are hard to use because they make the beer taste so much like grapefruit juice.

Wow... an article about NY hops farms and they completely ignore NY's awesome local brews in their list! I just picked up NY's best IPA, Ithaca Flower Power, and will be drinking some tonight as a big FU to the NYT!

There are only two working farms in NYC, both on Staten Island. The one closest to me is preparing to put in an acre of hops for next year. A member of my homebrew club (who is preparing to move to his wife's family farm in MA to farm hops), is helping them get it set up. They are right up the block from my house. I'm really hoping they kick off.

Does Decker farm grow hops? If not, what farm are you referring to? I'd love to have access to fresh hops

Yup, Decker. They don't grow them yet but they are going to be. Mark and a few other guys from the club grow tons of hops. One guy doesn't even brew and gives them all away. Mark gave me almost a pound this year and actually gave enough to Kelso for them to brew a commercial batch of beer with them. You gotta come to the meetings, you're missing out on a lot. What happened with the brew fest?

Nice, I work in the New York Times building on 40th street Not for the NY Times though but a law firm. Thanks for sharing the article!


Rev.

My godson was baptized that weekend in miami. I was lucky to sell my ticket to someone on here. When is the next get together?i just bottled a beer i'm on the fence about style wise. I'd love some input and to get to know some other homebrewers.

Probably next month. Mark and I are involved in a beer/art event this weekend so there probably won't be a meeting this month.

i just published a short little blog post about new york state hops, inspired to write about it by the times article. http://hollisbrewco.blogspot.com/2011/11/new-york-state-hops.html

a pretty ****ty research job by the writer, but what would anybody expect when the section this is published under is "dining and wine"... oh well, the attention to beer related things is good. NJ passed a similar law recently aimed at encouraging the same kind of farmhouse breweries.