![\"\"](\"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/HOPS_vines_rgb-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/HOPS_on-vine-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/HOPS_WulfrumVats_rgb-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/HOPS_BeerPour_rgb-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\nThe display of climbing plants, called a \u201cmicro hop yard,\u201d came about as a collaboration between Sebastian Wolfrum, a German-born brewmaster who teaches classes in NC State\u2019s brewing minor, and Jude Desnoyer \u201906, \u201922 MBA, who handles outreach and programming for Centennial Campus. The idea was to showcase interesting research on campus that would engage visitors. \u201cAnd beer,\u201d Wolfrum says, \u201cis always interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The hops were not just for show. They came from NC State\u2019s Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center in Mills River, N.C., destined for the brewing lab in the basement of Schaub Hall, where Wolfrum would work his magic. Hops are an essential ingredient in beer, Wolfrum explains, adding bitterness to offset the sweetness of the malt while their resins and oils provide other flavors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNative-grown hops is the missing link.\u201d \u201cAs the brewing industry has grown in North Carolina, there\u2019s been a lot of interest in growing hops in the region,\u201d says Wolfrum. There are already malt houses in the state that turn locally grown grain into malt to supply another essential beer ingredient. \u201cNative-grown hops is the missing link,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The crop is mainly grown in the Pacific Northwest, but researchers at the Mills River center are working to change that. When grown in North Carolina, the plants do not get the same length of day in the growing season as they do in the northwest, and typically fail to produce a bounty of the tiny green cones, which are the flowers of the female plant. Jeanine Davis, associate professor and extension specialist in Mills River, says the few North Carolina farms trying to grow hops only get a quarter to a fifth of what plants in the northwest would produce. \u201cThere\u2019s no way you\u2019re going make money with that,\u201d Davis says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The breeding program started in 2016, after research associate Luping Qu became interested in a 100-year-old hops variety, not in commercial production, being grown on a test plot. \u201cHe was seeing differences in the plants, picking up on stuff that the rest of us weren\u2019t seeing,\u2019\u2019 Davis says. \u201cI saw indications that the plant has the genetics to perform well here,\u201d Qu says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s taken years of breeding (and hand harvesting), but now several strains have been producing a good yield. Some of the Mills River harvest goes to local breweries, including Sierra Nevada, Wicked Weed and Sideyard, with good reports on beer-making ability. There are 10 strains in trial now, and one is in consideration for use on farms. \u201cWe are starting to get interest from people who want to put in big hop yards,\u2019\u2019 she says. \u201cThey have the money and the investors to do it right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI saw indications that the plant has the genetics to perform well here.\u201d For the Centennial mini hop yard, Qu sent two varieties. Davis says she was nervous. \u201cI kept thinking, if disease gets in there, we\u2019re going to have to put up a sign that says, \u2018This is a pathology experiment.\u2019\u201d But, Davis says, \u201cThey did fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qu wanted to see for himself. \u201cThe plants looked like they were doing good,\u201d he says, \u201cbut pictures can\u2019t always tell what\u2019s going on.\u201d So he drove to Raleigh, and was thrilled when he saw the trellises. \u201cIt looked good\u2009\u2014\u2009a lot of cones,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After a long, hot summer of growing, the hop yard was harvested by some of Wolfrum\u2019s brewing students, Centennial Campus staff and curious passersby. The yield,\u2009about four pounds after drying, \u2009headed to Wolfrum\u2019s brewing lab. About a week later, the fermenter\u2009\u2014\u2009a large steel vat with dials and a cone-shaped bottom\u2009\u2014\u2009was full of beer, about five barrels (or 150 gallons) in all. The beer blended two varieties of the Mills River hops, labeled 18.1 and 19.2, resulting in an English-style ale with a “smooth malt character balanced with robust hops bitterness,” Wolfrum says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, the proof was in the pudding\u2009\u2014\u2009or in the glass. Wolfrum turned on the tap and poured the tawny liquid into a flask and then a small drinking glass. He took a sip, closed his eyes and smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s late September, and the hops plants climb and drape over the 12-foot high trellis, laden with tiny soft green cones\u2009\u2014\u2009each one holding the key to a really good glass of beer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hops aren\u2019t supposed to grow well in North Carolina, but these plants are thriving. And the setting? Centennial Campus, where a bit of NC State\u2019s agricultural research took root\u2009\u2014\u2009literally\u2009\u2014\u2009last summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The display of climbing plants, called a \u201cmicro hop yard,\u201d came about as a collaboration between Sebastian Wolfrum, a German-born brewmaster who teaches classes in NC State\u2019s brewing minor, and Jude Desnoyer \u201906, \u201922 MBA, who handles outreach and programming for Centennial Campus. The idea was to showcase interesting research on campus that would engage visitors. \u201cAnd beer,\u201d Wolfrum says, \u201cis always interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The hops were not just for show. They came from NC State\u2019s Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center in Mills River, N.C., destined for the brewing lab in the basement of Schaub Hall, where Wolfrum would work his magic. Hops are an essential ingredient in beer, Wolfrum explains, adding bitterness to offset the sweetness of the malt while their resins and oils provide other flavors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNative-grown hops is the missing link.\u201d \u201cAs the brewing industry has grown in North Carolina, there\u2019s been a lot of interest in growing hops in the region,\u201d says Wolfrum. There are already malt houses in the state that turn locally grown grain into malt to supply another essential beer ingredient. \u201cNative-grown hops is the missing link,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The crop is mainly grown in the Pacific Northwest, but researchers at the Mills River center are working to change that. When grown in North Carolina, the plants do not get the same length of day in the growing season as they do in the northwest, and typically fail to produce a bounty of the tiny green cones, which are the flowers of the female plant. Jeanine Davis, associate professor and extension specialist in Mills River, says the few North Carolina farms trying to grow hops only get a quarter to a fifth of what plants in the northwest would produce. \u201cThere\u2019s no way you\u2019re going make money with that,\u201d Davis says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The breeding program started in 2016, after research associate Luping Qu became interested in a 100-year-old hops variety, not in commercial production, being grown on a test plot. \u201cHe was seeing differences in the plants, picking up on stuff that the rest of us weren\u2019t seeing,\u2019\u2019 Davis says. \u201cI saw indications that the plant has the genetics to perform well here,\u201d Qu says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s taken years of breeding (and hand harvesting), but now several strains have been producing a good yield. Some of the Mills River harvest goes to local breweries, including Sierra Nevada, Wicked Weed and Sideyard, with good reports on beer-making ability. There are 10 strains in trial now, and one is in consideration for use on farms. \u201cWe are starting to get interest from people who want to put in big hop yards,\u2019\u2019 she says. \u201cThey have the money and the investors to do it right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI saw indications that the plant has the genetics to perform well here.\u201d For the Centennial mini hop yard, Qu sent two varieties. Davis says she was nervous. \u201cI kept thinking, if disease gets in there, we\u2019re going to have to put up a sign that says, \u2018This is a pathology experiment.\u2019\u201d But, Davis says, \u201cThey did fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qu wanted to see for himself. \u201cThe plants looked like they were doing good,\u201d he says, \u201cbut pictures can\u2019t always tell what\u2019s going on.\u201d So he drove to Raleigh, and was thrilled when he saw the trellises. \u201cIt looked good\u2009\u2014\u2009a lot of cones,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After a long, hot summer of growing, the hop yard was harvested by some of Wolfrum\u2019s brewing students, Centennial Campus staff and curious passersby. The yield,\u2009about four pounds after drying, \u2009headed to Wolfrum\u2019s brewing lab. About a week later, the fermenter\u2009\u2014\u2009a large steel vat with dials and a cone-shaped bottom\u2009\u2014\u2009was full of beer, about five barrels (or 150 gallons) in all. The beer blended two varieties of the Mills River hops, labeled 18.1 and 19.2, resulting in an English-style ale with a \"smooth malt character balanced with robust hops bitterness,\" Wolfrum says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, the proof was in the pudding\u2009\u2014\u2009or in the glass. Wolfrum turned on the tap and poured the tawny liquid into a flask and then a small drinking glass. He took a sip, closed his eyes and smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Get ready for a truly homegrown brew as breeders work to create hops plants that can thrive in North Carolina.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":4405,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"views\/single-immersive.blade.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/default-immersive-post-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{\"backgroundColor\":\"gray_800\",\"caption\":\"A view of the hops vines on Centennial Campus. Photograph by Becky Kirkland, NC State\",\"displayCategoryID\":5,\"showAuthor\":true,\"showDate\":true,\"showFeaturedVideo\":false,\"subtitle\":\"Get ready for a truly homegrown brew as breeders work to create hops plants that can thrive in North Carolina.\"}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,9],"tags":[131,167,220,269,426,530,582,624,733,734,753,797,803,815,913,1048,1061],"_ncst_magazine_issue":[],"class_list":["post-4401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-best-bets","category-stories","tag-beer","tag-brewing","tag-centennial-campus","tag-college-of-agriculture-and-life-sciences","tag-extension","tag-hops","tag-jeanine-davis","tag-jude-desnoyer","tag-luping-qu","tag-lupulin","tag-margaret-bloomquist","tag-micro-hops-yard","tag-mills-river","tag-mountain-horticultural-crops-research-and-extension-center","tag-outreach","tag-schaub-hall","tag-sebastian-wolfrum"],"displayCategory":{"term_id":5,"name":"Best Bets","slug":"best-bets","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":53,"filter":"raw"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4401"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4401"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5272,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4401\/revisions\/5272"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4401"},{"taxonomy":"_ncst_magazine_issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/_ncst_magazine_issue?post=4401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/HOPS_in-hands_rgb-1.jpg\")
\u2013 Sebastian Wolfrum<\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/HOPS_MillsRivTeam_rgb-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/HOPS_Lupulin_rgb-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Luping Qu<\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/HOPS_LQu2_rgb.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Wulfrum_drink.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Wulfrum_taste.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/HOPS_Wulfrum_rgb-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Sebastian Wolfrum<\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Luping Qu<\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n