The University of Nebraska and the University of Wyoming will be hosting a hops workshop July 19 at the UNL Panhandle Research and Extension Center in Scottsbluff.
The workshop will run from 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. It is free and open to the public, and pre-registration is required for the meal count. To register, call the Center at 308-632-1230 before July 14.
Scottsbluff is one of five sites in Nebraska where hops varieties are being evaluated. At the hops yard at the Panhandle Center, eight varieties are being evaluated for potential use by craft beer brewers and hobbyists. The project is overseen Stacy Adams, UNL Associate Professor of Practice in Horticulture Specialty Crops, with Extension Educator Gary Stone in charge of the local hops yard.
Nebraska has more than 30 commercial craft breweries, which are sourcing a majority of their hops from out of state. This project will evaluate the potential for commercial hops production by specialty crop growers in Nebraska. Researchers are looking at plant health, productivity, quality and annual consistency.
Funding comes from the Nebraska Department of Agriculture and Specialty Crop Block Grant Project (SCBGP). The project has a website at http://agronomy.unl.edu/nebraska-hops.
Topics at the July 19 workshop include:
• The Panhandle Center hops yard, Gary Stone, Nebraska Extension educator
• Overview of the UNL Hops Project, Stacy Adams, UNL
• Potential hops pests and diseases, Catherine Wissner, University of Wyoming Extension Educator
• Hops Economics, Jessica Groskopf, Nebraska Extension Educator, ag economics
• Hops Use, TBD
• Hops Yard Tour