Kelly Ard of Albuquerque smells like hops on a grapevine at Los Ranchos Agri-Nature Center Thursday, where the village held a hop harvest and a beer brewing demonstration. (Roberto E. Rosales / )
Copyright © 2021
Things really get going at the Village of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque Agri-Nature Center.
Not far from the lavender plants, vineyards and orchards is an acre of hop area.
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The flowers of the Humulus lupulus plant are a bitter and preservative in beer.
The center is growing seven hop varieties this year, including two experimental varieties from North Carolina State University and the University of Florida.
Joshua O’Halloran, director of Los Ranchos’ agriculture program, said hops thrive in northern states like Washington because of the long summer days.
The new varieties that are just emerging will show how a specially bred crop grows in southern climates.
“We’ll probably harvest some of this next year and see how they do,” said O’Halloran. “That affects the taste. The hops seem to be milder down here. “
When he pulls a green cone out of the leafy climbing vines and opens it, he says: “You can see the lupulin, the yellow powder inside, which gives the beer its taste. Pick one and smell it, and it smells like an IPA in it. “
Agri-Nature Center employees and volunteers line the perennial hop vines or vines on high ropes as they grow upwards.
A mechanical harvester on loan from New Mexico State University’s Agricultural Science Center in Farmington cuts tenons from vines in minutes.
The NMSU has been conducting hop trials for more than a decade. Other growers in the Albuquerque area can also use the harvester.
Cones dry out for several days before the hop blossoms are vacuum-sealed or processed into pellets.
The hop garden in its second growing season is part of an initiative by Los Ranchos and NMSU to support local urban agriculture.
Because of the drought, the crop was flooded only once a month this summer.
“I think if we’d given them more water we would have gotten taller on some of the vines,” said O’Halloran. “But they’re doing pretty well.”
Los Ranchos Village hosted a beer brewing event at the Los Ranchos Agri-Nature Center on Thursday. More than a dozen people were able to see firsthand how hops are harvested and then used in the brewing process. Pictured is chief brewer Ken Wimmer (left) and Mike Kennedy, who start processing a strawberry IPA. (Roberto E. Rosales / .)
Harvest time pays off for the Los Ranchos hops brewery, which uses the center’s Chinook and Nugget hops for two beers in their taproom on Fourth Street.
Ken Wimmer, chief brewer at Hops, hosted a brewing demonstration and a beer tasting of the drink from last year’s Los Ranchos hop harvest on Thursday.
The plant is mixed with malted grain, yeast, and water to make the locally grown brew.
“Hops rot very quickly if you keep them moist, so they dry out right away,” says Wimmer. “But basically you can make beer if you can cook.”
Theresa Davis is a member of the Report for America Corps, a water and environmental researcher for the .
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