Midwestern hops: Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin

Although almost all American-grown hops are produced in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, I’ve known for a while you can grow hops at home all over the place—heck, I’ve even seen some growing outside the Lion’s Pride pub in Brunswick, Maine. Maine…not, you’d think, the most hospitable place for this sort of agricultural experiment. I figured … Read more

Fermentation

Northern Brewer Bavarian Hefeweizen Extract Kit (simply 6 lbs. wheat malt syrup, 1 lb. Briess Bavarian wheat dried malt extract, 1 oz. German Tettnang hops) pitched with White Labs WLP300 Hefeweizen Ale Yeast. That’s some healthy Kräusen and CO2 production. This morning, about 16 hours into fermentation at 78° F—a bit high, but I’m betting okay. … Read more