Florida-grown hops bring sweet success to craft beer industry

UF/IFAS scientists revolutionize hop production in Florida, offering brewers unique aromas and now easier-to-use hop pellets.

GAINESVILLE, FL (352today.com) – Before 2015, no one had grown hops successfully in Florida. Over the past decade, University of Florida scientists have not only changed that but also demonstrated the commercial potential of Florida-grown hops as a key ingredient in craft beer. Since their experiments started, scientists at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC) have been supplying their hops to Tampa Bay-area brewers and others around Florida.

To date, 19 microbreweries have brewed over 5,000 gallons of beer using GCREC hops.

“With almost no local commercial hops production, we are most likely the largest supplier of Florida-grown hops,” said Shinsuke Agehara, a UF/IFAS associate professor of horticultural sciences at GCREC.

Man pours hops from an orange bucket into a steaming pelletizing machine inside a processing room. — UF/IFAS researchers and brewers gather at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center to explore the latest advances in Florida-grown hops, from harvesting to pellet production and craft beer applications. Courtesy: UF/IFAS

Group of people discussing and inspecting green hop cones under a greenhouse structure. — UF/IFAS researchers and brewers gather at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center to explore the latest advances in Florida-grown hops, from harvesting to pellet production and craft beer applications. Courtesy: UF/IFAS

“Feedback from those brewers has been favorable and insightful,” Agehara said. “They’ve identified unique aromas in our hops — such as sweet melon, honeydew and pineapple — that are uncharacteristic of the same hop variety grown in the Pacific Northwest.”

To support their feedback with scientific evidence, Agehara and his team are now analyzing the essential oil composition of Florida-grown hops to study their terroir — distinctive quality characteristics shaped by Florida’s specific climate and soil.

Agehara and other UF/IFAS scientists shared this and other research updates with microbreweries at the Spring Hops Field Day at GCREC on June 4.

“One of the past limitations in distributing our hops was that we could only provide whole cones — either fresh or dried — rather than pellets,” Agehara said.

“Since most brewers prefer using pellets, being able to supply hops in the form of pellets would certainly help the use and recognition of our hops by local brewers,” he said. “Pellets have several advantages over whole dried cones.”

Their smaller size and their ability to break down in water allow for more efficient extraction of essential oils and acids. Pellets are also easier to store and handle, and they have a longer shelf life.

Cypress & Grove Brewing in Gainesville and Sideward Brewing in Orlando are among the first Florida breweries to use hop pellets produced at GCREC.

Representatives of those businesses brought their beers to the field day for tasting.

“The beers showcased the unique aromas of Florida-grown hops and were very well received by the participants,” Agehara said. Florida now has 391 craft breweries, spread throughout the state, up from 45 in 2011. With pellets now available, more breweries are expected to follow and experiment with Florida-grown hops.

“Our immediate goal is to demonstrate the potential of Florida-grown hops to local breweries, while optimizing the production system to maximize the yield and quality. Our long-term goal is to help establish a market that encourages commercial hop production by local growers,” said Agehara.