HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — There are plenty of places to drink beer in Florida, but there are only a few places that are actually harvesting crops to brew it.
When researchers at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center started growing hops, they had handfuls; now, six years- later, they have hundreds of bushels full, revolutionizing the beer industry in the state.
“This is one of the coolest projects I’ve ever been a part of, being able to build it, and when I see a group of people walk in the shade of the hops plants, it's quite a magical moment,” said the field manager Christopher Delcastillo.
Delcastillo and biological scientist Bill Wang have been working on this agricultural breakthrough for the past six years.
“In the United States, most of the hops production happens in the pacific northwest,” said Wang. “In Florida, because we have the subtropical to tropical climate, that brings challenges.”
One of their biggest hurdles was the lack of daylight, so they decided to create their own, using an LED lighting system.
“During the growing season, they give off red light from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m.; basically, we are tricking them as if they are still growing in the pacific northwest environment,” said Wang.
Growing the hops is only half the experiment; next, they wanted to see if they’re tasty enough to turn into beer.
“So I have to confess that I personally don’t drink beer that much,” said Wang.
“Get a couple bags from the freezer and then approach all kinds of breweries almost every weekend, and I got some yeses,” said Delcastillo.
They’d love to see every Florida brewery have at least one beer on tap that’s homegrown.
“If it’s from the field within 24 hours into their mix, then they can have a style of beer that they aren’t able to have yet,” said Delcastillo.
Eventually, Bill and Christopher hope their hard work and ingenuity lead to fields of hops across the state.
“Through pioneering research and trial and error, we can provide experience to growers so they can be successful growing hops,” said Wang.
