It’s no secret that the American farmer’s seen better days. But a Wisconsin-based company has an idea that could help farmers and beer lovers at the same time.

All you need to jump on the hop crop bandwagon — the product that provides the characteristic bitter taste to beer as well as its flowery aroma — is an acre of suitable farmland anywhere in Wisconsin or upper Midwest and about $10,000.

“The mission of Gorst Valley (Hops) is to provide farmers with a new high-value crop that they can produce on small acreage within a system that returns the majority of the value of the crop back to the grower,” said James Altwies, the company’s director and horticulturist.

Will this save America’s farms forever and create a burgeoning beer-based ag system? No, but this could be a viable way for small town farmers to make some fair money while also benefitting others in the region. And maybe the best part of all is how beer drinkers will be treated to some unique and local brews with a personal touch.

Lakefront Brewery’s new “Local Acre,” out this month, is made with only Gorst Valley Hops and contains all Wisconsin ingredients. Middleton’s Capital Brewery also is interested in purchasing hops once Gorst Valley has enough volume — possibly in 2011, Altwies said.

“We’re never going to be able to supply one brewer with all the hops that they need,” Altwies said. But “we can supply brewers with enough hops to brew specialty beers.”

This is definitely a way beer could bring a community closer together, especially when your neighbor down the road was a key part of the IPA you’re drinking. We wish the best for the company, and also hope they continue to expand their business to other states.

Green Bay Press Gazette – Growing Hops a Way to Revitalize State’s Farmland

Not too long ago, I wrote a post about some of the most eco-friendly breweries in the nation. Now, it looks like we can add another to the list.

Central Waters Brewery in Amherst, Wisc., has been able to double its beer production without spending any more on natural gas after installing a solar water heater, reports Central Wisconsin Hub.

The solar water heating system is projected to meet 18 percent of the brewery’s hot water needs and save $1.4 million over its 30-year life span.

Not only is this great for the environment, but it’s also a great sign that a brewery can make more money and more beer while still remaining green. Some of the other methods for making a brewery more environmentally efficient aren’t exactly the cheapest, and it should be said that Central Waters got the help of a state grant for 25% of the funding, but that Central Waters is actually saving money while making more beer creates quite a precedent about the need and benefit of operating with solar power. Cheers to Central Waters Brewery for doing something that hopefully starts an avalanche of copy-cat procedures.

Environmental Leader — For Brewery, Solar Water Heater Means Twice as Much Beer for Same Energy Cost

Today’s Wall Street Journal has an interesting article about the art of collecting beer cans, and how recent trends have pushed the number of collectors down. Way down. This doesn’t worry a 10-year-old boy in Wisconsin, though.

HUBERTUS, Wis. — Kids collect a lot of things these days: Transformers action figures, American Girl dolls, baseball cards. Then there’s 10-year-old Randy Langenbach. He collects beer cans.

“I just like how they look,” Randy says of the 200 cans that line the walls of his bedroom here. And, no, “he doesn’t drink the beer,” his father says.

The problem for the once-thriving hobby of beer-can collecting is that Randy is a rarity: a collector under the age of 30.

The article says that keeping collector numbers high is hard these days since many older collectors are dying off, and getting new kids hooked into collecting is even harder when iPods and video games are more exciting than pieces of motionless metal. Almost 12,000 people were members of the The Brewery Collectibles Club of America in 1978. Now only 3,500 people pay the yearly fee of $38.

I’ve always thought collecting cans was a neat, beer-related hobby, and I’ve collected a number of beer bottles over the past few years. But I like keeping the bottles as more of a timeline of my drinking, as well as for the aesthetic value of the bottles, rather than finding rarities and collecting used cans and bottles just to have and hold.

Anyone else have a beer-related collection? I know the Blackfoot River Brewery has a nice collection of cans lining its ceiling, and a bar called Ashley’s in Ann Arbor, MI has an enormous stock on the rafters. Miles and Steffen are big growler collectors, but I don’t know anyone with a can collection, so maybe it is the end of an era.

There’s a video below, and here’s the link to the photo gallery with the article–some great photos in it. The article’s worth the read, especially when you get some great quotes from Randy Langenbach like:

But the blue-eyed fourth-grader says not one of his classmates collects cans, despite his efforts to entice them. “The boys are mostly interested in sports, and the girls are interested in girl stuff.”

(Via The Wall Street Journal)

…now there’s a study showing that hops are being compromised. By global warming!

Climatologist Martin Mozny of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute and colleagues say that the quality of Saaz hops – the delicate variety used to make pilsner lager – has been decreasing in recent years. They say the culprit is climate change in the form of increased air temperature.

Mozny’s team used a high-resolution dataset of weather patterns, crop yield and hop quality to estimate the impact of climate change on Saaz hops in the Czech Republic between 1954 and 2006.

We all remember the dreaded hop shortage from 2007, and that wasn’t pretty. But now we may have some indication as to what caused that shortage. And it’s also proof that global warming is definitely happening!

Well, maybe. These kinds of studies are always interesting, and it does show some correlation, but it doesn’t show any causation. There are way too many variables to completely connect this to global warming, but it’s something to at least think about, especially if these type of studies are repeated in different areas of the world.

Mozny notes in the article that this type of decrease in hop quality is being seen in Germany and Slovakia as well. I haven’t heard anything about this change happening in America yet, but we’ll surely be following this trend. And if you’re feeling a little down about raising the earth’s temperature, thus compromising the hops that let us enjoy a Friday night, maybe consider drinking some beer from these breweries that place the importance of the environment next to the importance of their beer:

Brooklyn Brewery in Brooklyn, NY: You’d think a big city brewery in a bustling metropolis would place production and cost-efficiency well above environmental protection. Not so. The Brooklyn Brewery runs on 100% wind power through purchasing wind power from a wind farm in Upstate New York. Not many other breweries in the nation can make a statement like that. A small brewery making a big difference.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. in Chico, CA: We rave about Sierra Nevada a lot here, but even their commitment to the environment earns our praise.  With the solar panels on the roof, a fuel cell training lab on-site, and a machine that recycles expelled CO2 in the brewing process and uses it in dispensing their beer, Sierra Nevada sounds more like an experimental science lab than a brewery. All this is astonishing when you consider the size of the establishment. And the delicious beer they serve.

Great Lakes Brewing Co. in Cleveland, OH: Great Lakes Brewing is one of many breweries that recycles their barley and gives it to local farmers. But they’re one of the few breweries that makes a commitment to printing all menus and promotional material on recycled prodects, using biodiesel in delivery trucks and shuttles, and creating food from barley used in the brewing process. Any brewery that’s in the mood for reusing materials makes us want to reuse their beer when we’re thirsty.

Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee, WI: Using 100% organic malts and hops, this smaller brewery in Wisconsin also makes a commitment to using wind energy as a source of power, as well as making a dedication to include Wisconsin growers in their plans for future beer production. The brewery also offers tours on Fridays that showcase the brewery’s dedication to a better environment through operational procedures that are making beer better and more eco-friendly.

New Belgium Brewing in Fort Collins, CO: Using one of the most efficient brewing kettles in the country, treating their waste water in eco-friendly ways, and always pushing to reduce their carbon-footprint, New Belgium Brewing not only makes some great beer, but also does it all while making a positive impact that will be noticed by generations of beer drinkers to come. Plus, who ever wants to pass-up a Fat Tire when you find it on tap at a bar? Not us.