The ability to work closer to home with ingredients gives your brewery the chance to show some civic pride, shorten the supply chain and have the ability to be a bit more sustainable.
For the past several years Ommegang has found that New York State farms are rising to the challenge with better quality hops and grains for malting with its annual Hopstate New York dry-hopped IPA, which was recently released in 2021.
“In the years that we have done this, the hop quality is so much better,” said Director of Brewing, Joe Poliseno. “I feel like Hopstate with all New York State hops can stand with other beers with hops produced out of the state.”
NY-grown Chinook and Rakau team with Cascade, Nugget, Crystal, and Michigan Copper to create the 7.4% ABV, 45 IBU limited brand in the company’s OMG Series that also includes locally-sourced barley.
“We usually do work with the same farmers,” Poliseno said. “It all depends on who has the best hops for that particular year. Most years we work with various farmers to select the best hops and varieties we can.”
The brewery works with a local hop broker that helps Ommegang work through this process. Once the hops are being harvested in the early fall, Poliseno said they can begin selecting what hops they think will work best for this project.
“Every year we could be using different varieties,” he said. “It all depends on which hop does the best. Also, with new varieties coming out we may switch to that if we find it to be better. We typically look for whatever will make the beer better.”
To help promote the brand for its release, Ommegang showcases imagery of the current year’s hop harvest at the brewery.
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