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Oregon State University and Indie Hops merchant develop danky new Strata hop

November 7, 2017Keith Gribbins

hop hand HPA Australia
Not Strata shown here, but picture something equally sexy.

The Pacific Northwest is the mecca of hop breeding. Oregon, Washington and Idaho grow 97 percent of the hops in the United States. For more than 100 years, Oregon State University has taken a big role in helping cultivate the hop industries of the Pacific Northwest. OSU scientists began experimenting with hops on campus in 1893. Its Dr. Alfred Haunold in particular is the godfather of American breeds like Cascade, Willamette, Sterling, Liberty, Mt. Hood and Santiam.

Indie Hops is an Oregon-based hop merchant that’s a big supporter of OSU and its hop sciences. Since 2010, Indie Hops has donated more than a million dollars through the Agricultural Research Foundation, a corporate affiliate of Oregon State University. In that time, OSU and Indie Hops have been working to commercialize certain breeds in the Aroma Hops Breeding Program — the first of which (called Strata) is finally finding its way into the craft beer market.

Indie Hop’s Owners Roger Worthington and Jim Solberg had their eyes on developing a unique “open pollinated Perle” variety. From an excellent article on The Daily Barometer (Oregon State’s award-winning student-run newspaper):

“I selected the experimental genotype 9-1-331 in 2011,” Townsend said via email. “And after extensive testing for agronomic traits and brewing potential at Corvallis, and two Willamette valley commercial hop farms, X331 (as we informally called it) was named Strata and targeted for release. Strata also appears in packaged beers brewed by Fort George, Base Camp, Sierra Nevada and Odell, to name only a few.”

According to Worthington, it is about a 10-to-12-year process from the day a male and female are crossed to the day there is something that is commercially valuable to brewers. Worthington also mentioned that Oregon is an ideal location for aroma hops to grow. In fact, Oregon ranks second in the United States in hops production valued at $65 million in 2016, according to an OSU extension webpage.

Patents are being filed, and Indie Hops has contracted some 70 acres to grow Strata for next season. Indie Hops was working with Coleman and Goschie farms last time we checked. Worthington also owns Worthy Brewing Co. in Bend, Ore., which hopes to can a Strata IPA in 12-ounce cans next year if the harvest is a success. Back to the article:

According to Townsend, the Strata hop was chosen for its sensory complexity and outstanding agronomic performance. Both the Strata hop and IPA are described as having various tropical fruit notes, citrus notes and dank notes similar to that of cannabis.

…

“I would love to introduce the hop to as many students as possible who are of drinking age and get them inspired about the importance of dreaming,” Worthington said. “We started with a dream, Jim and I, and then one day we had a hop that we helped invent with Oregon State and it took about eight years to get there, but this dream is coming true.”

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. James Altwies says

    November 10, 2017 at 7:03 am

    Great. Another skunky West coast hop for a bloated market.

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    • Tanner Brethorst says

      November 10, 2017 at 9:30 am

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    • Tanner Brethorst says

      November 10, 2017 at 9:31 am

      But, Bruh! We can all brew the dankest now! Soooo dank……..

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  2. Bob Bero says

    November 8, 2017 at 12:15 pm

    Going to the Ohio Craft Brewers Conference in late Jan? Hope to be pouring a few beers brewed with Ohio Born and Bred hops at the OHGG booth, should be interesting!

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  3. Brian Tennis says

    November 8, 2017 at 1:15 am

    Is this a public variety?

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    • Keith Gribbins says

      November 8, 2017 at 7:18 am

      Fort George, Base Camp, Sierra Nevada and Odell are using it, but we’re sure it’s slim pickins. Contact these dudes: http://indiehops.com/

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    • Bob Bero says

      November 8, 2017 at 8:49 am

      Probably a hybrid as there was a lawyer involved with the 1M ‘donation’, haha! http://www.capitalpress.com/SpecialSections/Orchard/20160414/new-hops-due-from-corvallis-programs

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    • Eric Curtiss says

      November 9, 2017 at 12:14 am

      I’ve met the said lawyer a few times and I’m gonna go out on a limb (very sturdy branch) and say you probably won’t like the guy Brian Tennis

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    • Eric Curtiss says

      November 9, 2017 at 12:15 am

      I actually PM’d you after listening to him talk at a conference in Eugene…lol

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    • Brian Tennis says

      November 9, 2017 at 12:41 am

      Eric Curtiss roger that

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  4. Coleman Agriculture says

    November 7, 2017 at 6:57 pm

    Exciting news! Coleman Agriculture’s family farms are proud to be a part of Strata’s debut harvest. #Oregon #Hops #CraftBeer

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