Ogden Street Hops, circa approx. early AprilThe Ogden Street Brewery is currently nurturing four lovely vines of genuine Cascade Hops. Rhizomes courtesy of Tim and his connects. In the six weeks since this pic was taken, the plants have grown over eight feet. (Pics to be provided in an upcoming post.)
If all goes well, sometime around September, we'll have a bunch of these:
We have a few things going for us (info from Sampson):1. Hops flourish between 35 and 50 degrees latitude. This is true irrespective of the hemisphere. Some top hop spots are Chile, China, South Africa, Australia, Germany, the Czech Republic, Belgium, and America. Washington, DC: 38 degrees north latitude. Prime hop territory, son.
2. Overused hop-growing regions suffer from an abundance of pests. Luckily, hop predators attack only hops. This means that growing hops in a new area guarantees at least a few initial successful growing seasons.
3. Humulus lupulus ("ground wolf," in Latin) is an apposite moniker for the hop plant; the root system of an adult plant is infamously extensive. Ogden Street Brewery has provided its quartet of sapling vines with a capacious plot in which to spread out. (ours have already snuffed out the lives of interloping weeds and clovers in the Official OSB planter's box.) Miracle Gro also available. Thanks, Home Depot at R.I. Ave. and 10th, NE!
4. Cascade hops enjoy the climate synonymous with their name: long, mild, wet springs, followed by warm summers. Can the D.C. area hook it up? We think it can. (If only the humidity weren't so f***ing oppressive.)
One of the definitive tutorials on hop-growing history can be found in the late, great, Beer Hunter's tome on Belgian beers. Michael Jackson's book has helpful graphs and maps--great for a cartographile like me--as well as pictures of hop vines and cones. (And really, who doesn't love pictures of old, British, gin-blossomed men holding handfuls of hop cones?)
What the OS Brewers are listening to right now:
Classified--"Boycott in the Industry"
Phoenix--"Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix"
Murs--"Murs 3:16"
Review of Anderson Valley's Summer Solstice (Cerveza Crema)
Who knew: Anderson Valley's brewers have a sense of humor. The ursine imprint on every AV bottle has been replaced with the apochryphal "bear-moose," which I guess fits into the same mold as the Jackalope
and the Hodag. Oh, and the bear-moose wears sunglasses. But that makes sense; they're always tending to one vine or another in Anderson Valley.Nose: Vanilla, cream (duh), cinnamon, nutmeg. An aromatic slam-dunk.
Body: Rouge--calls to mind a darker Van Honsebrouck Kasteel.
Palate: More of the same: soft vanilla notes, with some serious nutmeg in the middle. Earthy, gentle, smooth mouthfeel.
Finish: Lingering creaminess.
Overall: An excellent summer beer. Go and buy a six-pack today. (And do it at Devines @ 14th and Irving, NW, or their sister joint, Devinos, at 18th and U, NW. They deserve your business. And finally, if you see the dude who purchases beer for Pete's Pizza behind the CoHi metro--a bomb ass slice, btw, though haters and New Yorkers say you can't find a good slice in the District--give him the finger. Hi, Hater!)
Final Rating: ***1/2
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