©2024 The News Service of Florida
University of Florida researchers are trying to bolster the cultivation of a key beer ingredient in the state. Hops contributes bitterness, aromatic elements and even antiseptic properties to beer.
But Florida’s hot summers are “not ideal” for growing hops, according to Katherine Thompson-Witrick, an assistant professor at UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and the lead researcher in a study aimed at increasing hops production.
But another issue in Florida’s environment keeps hops from thriving.
“We don’t get enough sunlight — and it’s not the type, it’s the duration,” Thompson-Witrick said in an interview.
A news release from UF/IFAS said that hops grows best when it can get at least 16 hours of sunlight, which can be found at latitudes of 35 degrees and above — whereas Florida’s northernmost latitude is 31 degrees. To combat that disadvantage, the researchers are using greenhouses.
“We can set up grow lights that allow us the opportunity to trick the plant into thinking that we are farther north, with the fact that we maintain the lights on for a longer duration to mimic the amount of light they would get at a northern latitude,” Thompson-Witrick said.
The researchers since January 2023 have harvested two crops of hops grown in a greenhouse in Apopka.
Thompson-Witrick’s research suggests the Apopka-grown plants could have the same yield of hops, per plant, as crops grown in more environmentally suitable areas.
UF students who tested and recorded various scents emanating from the Florida-grown hops reported smelling “hints of citrus, spice and floral notes,” the news release said.
