Significant amounts of hops, a key ingredient in beer, were once grown in Connecticut. But with Prohibition, hops were mostly replaced by tobacco as a cash crop. Hops for Connecticut beers now are supplied by Oregon, Washington state and Idaho.
However, the state Department of Agriculture is studying the return of local hops to support Connecticut breweries with trials at three sites, in Hamden, Windsor and Griswold.
Southern Connecticut State University is a partner in the agricultural test that might lead Connecticut farmers to plant high-quality hops, as well as grains — barley and wheat for malt and sorghum and buckwheat as gluten-free malting agents.
In time, Connecticut farms may supply the state’s brewers all the hops and malting materials they need to make the finest beers and ales, beverages that in aroma and flavor will be characterized by the native soil of the Nutmeg State.
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