CState Brewing program will be part of the first Ohio Fresh Hop Festival on Oct. 14

The Cincinnati State Brewing Science program is an invited participant in the inaugural Ohio Fresh Hop Festival on Saturday, October 14, from 1 to 8 p.m., at HighGrain Brewing (6860 Plainfield Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45236).

The Brewing Science program is one of 16 breweries pouring beer at the festival. Each brewery partnered with a local hop grower to use whole cone hops in their beers.

You can purchase event tickets at https://highgrainbrewing.com/ohiofreshhopfestival.

Hops are the flowers or “cones” of the plant Humulus lupulus, used to add flavor to beer.

According to Brewing Science Program Chair Caleb Ochs-Naderer, August and September are the main harvest times for hops, and beers that are made with freshly harvested hops–those picked within less than 24 hours–are designated as “fresh hopped” or “wet hopped” beers.

Hops that aren’t used in fresh hopped beers are usually picked, processed, and dried into pellets that can be used year-round.

“The Hop Festival is a once-a-year opportunity to try some beers made with hops as fresh as you can get them,” Caleb said.

A range of beer styles will be represented at the Fresh Hop Festival, including less-typically hoppy beers like lagers and saisons.

However, the Cincinnati State Brewing Science program chose to create a Hazy Pale Ale to showcase a new variety of hops grown by farmer Derek Thompson from OSHY Hops.

The new Vista hops are part of a U.S. Department of Agriculture public hop breeding program that seeks to create hops that match brewer and consumer preferences. The Vista hop variety expresses aromas and flavors of melon, tropical fruit, and white peach.