The
Minnesota Beer Activists group is planning a community garden centered exclusively on hops, which are used to flavor beer.
Andrew Schmitt, the group’s executive director, saw a need for fresh, locally sourced hops. “I thought, ‘why not have a garden dedicated to just hops, which the community can use?’” he says. “We have a great community of home brewers in Minnesota and this is one way we can help with that.”
He knows of no other community hops gardens in the country. The Minnesota Beer Activists worked with Hennepin County to find a spot for the garden. They setled on a lot at the corner of East 38th Street and Dight Avenue in Minneapolis’s Longfellow neighborhood.
Besides turning a vacant space into a productive one, the garden dovetails with several local breweries. “It brings neighbors together and they can share something they have in common,” he says.
The Minnesota Beer Activists plans to run the hops garden cooperatively. People can sign up to take part in much the same way that they would in any other community garden, collectively maintaining it, he says.
To help get it up and running, Hippity Hop Farms in Forest Lake is donating hop plants and trellises, which cuts down on the group’s overhead costs, he says. Schmitt hopes to track down some rain barrels as well.
The garden will start out by planting Cascade hops, which are “great all around for making beer, in terms of taste and aroma,” he says, adding, “As things progress, we may look at some other styles.”
Schmitt plans to edge the garden with wheat and barley. He also wants to set up a bench to create a park-like feel, he says.
By October, the garden should have its first harvest. The hops will be good for home brewers and cooking enthusiasts alike.
He hopes to make the garden the “leading edge of what could be a movement,” inspiring other community hops gardens in the area, and beyond.
Source: Andrew Schmitt, executive director, Minnesota Beer Activists
Writer: Anna Pratt