From BeerAdvocate news, comes word that Rogue is facing the challenge of the hops shortage by entering into a "strategic alliance with Heritage Hop Growers, the Coleman Family:"
The brewery plans to release a "fresh hop" product in 2009, which I can't wait to try.
The Rogue Hop Farm is on the Willamette River, south of Independence, Oregon on the former John Haas Alluvial Hop Farm. Four varieties are now being planted on 22 acres with an initial harvest in 2009. The four varieties are Perle, Sterling, Horizon, and Centennial. The hops will be processed and baled on the farm.While just a strategic alliance for now, it's not hard to imagine the larger craft brewers owning stakes in hop farms, or owning them outright. If brewers move in the direction of vertical integration, it would put them in control of their own destiny with regard to hops prices and would be a sign of the growing maturity of the craft brewing sector.
The brewery plans to release a "fresh hop" product in 2009, which I can't wait to try.
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