Beer 101: The American Super Hop

I’d like to dish out some very cool knowledge that I think every American craft beer drinker should know. In my review of Fireworks Pizza in Arlington, I mentioned that America currently leads the way in brewing innovation. Recently my best friend, drinking buddy and home brewing genius Chris Zeigler shared an amazing story about hops with me. I had to make sure that it made it onto Cloture Club.

Everyone knows that hops are a vital component in the brewing process. Not only do they contribute incredible flavor and balance, they also act as a natural preservative in beer. The American brewing industry has been around pretty much since we wrote our constitution, except for that one little pause in the twenties, and until recently we had always been dependent largely on foreign countries for our hop supply. We lived with that situation for quite a while until one of the largest suppliers for the best hop varieties in the world, Germany, kinda did some stuff in the 1930s – 1940s that wasn’t very cool. So what did America do?

Well, back in the 1930s the hop supply became scarce. So while Europe was erupting into war, we decided to take matters into our own hands. We discovered that the state of Oregon had many of the same environmental characteristics of the German hop growing regions, and our scientists got to work. Through the USDA, our government granted Oregon State University millions of dollars for hop research. That’s right folks, we started growing and developing our own, and in 1971 the American super hop was born; the Cascade hop.

The flavor of the Cascade hop imparts a bold and complex citrusy, fruity and piney quality into the flavor and aroma of beer and is ranked as one of the finest hop varieties in the world. Go America! Cascade has also currently been the most produced hop for American craft brewers in the last five growing seasons. Some pretty great beers are brewed with Cascade! You might even know a few; Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Harpoon IPA, Rouge’s Chocolate Stout. The list goes on.

When I heard the story about the Cascade hop I felt an overwhelming sense of pride for our country. There we were in the midst of a war that threatened both the future of humanity AND our hop supply. So we rolled up our sleeves, got our boys into the fight and kicked serious butt, and to keep the beer flowing we started research that led to the creation of one of the greatest hop varieties on the planet. Yet another example of how our great country continues its dominance of all things awesome!

So when you find yourself enjoying an IPA or other American craft beer, remember that there’s probably a deep and incredible history behind some of the ingredients that went into it.

Till next time, stay thirsty DC!

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