HOPS Survey about Hops!

I received an email from Amber Beye, a local Four Corners resident writing a grant to perform a hop variety trial with Fort Lewis College. Amber is interested in the varieties that home brewers are most willing to use or would like to try and has created a survey (in Microsoft Word
2010 document format) to gauge Four Corners homebrewers' preferences for hops.

All participants are welcome and you just need to fill out the attached document and send it directly to Amber at amber@sccorps.org by March 28, 2012. You can also contact Amber with any questions you have about the survey.

In the end, we might end up with a local hop farm serving Four Corners homebrewers. At the least, though, you can help Amber write a grant that will help further hop farming in our region.

 

Cheers!

Jason

 

It's a Wrap! A Good Time was had by All at the 1st Annual HOPS Homebrew Hoedown

We had a great homebrew gathering with over 35 people this weekend at the Pagosa Brewing Co. in beautiful Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Beer lovers from Bloomfield and Aztec, NM, Durango, Del Norte and of course Pagosa (and who knows where else!) joined together to celebrate zymurgy and its wonderful fruits. Best of all, the weather cooperated and we enjoyed a nice 80-degree day with light winds and wonderful company. Wow!

We will post some pictures of the event soon and I'm going to highlight a few points in the meantime. A number of very generous homebrewers and craft brewers brought tasty beverages to share and we had seven taps beers with more than 30 different bottles available. We even had the privilege to sample some simply delectable meads from an expert and legendary meadmaker here in Pagosa Springs.

Our door prizes included great gifts from local breweries including Ska, Steamworks, San Luis Valley Brewing and Three Barrel Brewing. Of course, Tony Simmons and the crew at Pagosa Brewing hosted our event and did a wonderful job serving us great food. Best of all, Tony and John Bricker, head brewer and owner of Three Barrel Brewing Co. in Del Norte, CO (try the Hop Trash if you can...awesome!), joined us to sample our homebrews and to offer advice and even share some of their rare creations. Woohoo!

Thanks again to everyone who helped make this event a roaring success and we look forward to getting together again soon. The homebrewing community in the Four Corners is alive and well and growing. Keep up the good work and happy fermenting!