Support Your Local Hop Farmer
Sonoma County was once one of the largest hop growing regions in the nation, but all that remains today are the ghostly shells of old hop-kilns. Paul Hawley has been experimenting with growing hops for years. He farms close to 400 vines on Fogbelt's 1/4 acre hopyard in Healdsburg. Paul takes the lead and has experimented with many different varieties finding success with Cascade, Chinook, Colombus, and a local heritage hop identified as California Cluster.
Farm to Glass
Paul and Remy come from winemaking families- both their fathers were professional winemakers. Like wine, beer is an agricultural product and expresses the flavors unique to the region it was grown. California grown Cascade hops taste different than Washington grown. We are excited to explore the terroir and the farming practices unique to growing hops in Sonoma County, and even more excited to taste it in the finished beers!
Wet Hop Beers
Most of the locally grown hops are used to make wet hop beers. This style requires hops that are harvested and brewed within hours, rather than dried and preserved. Wet hop beers have unique flavor that has been equated to cooking with fresh herbs versus dried. The hop harvest is usually late July to late August.
NorCal Hop Growers Alliance
Sonoma County was once renowned for the quality and flavor of the hops grown in its unique micro-climates and soils, until commercial farming became more economical up in Washington State. Fogbelt began working with other local small farmers to bring hops back to Sonoma County agriculture, or at least to tastebuds of hop aficionados. In 2016 Paul helped to launch the NorCal Hop Growers Alliance to support and promote small scale hop farming in the North Bay. www.norcalhopgrowersalliance.com