Great story in today’s Strib about local hop growing efforts, with tons of insight by Minnesota homebrewers. Thanks to Don for bringing this to my attention.

Brewers hop to it.

The grow-your-own movement now extends to hops, as a worldwide shortage has prompted home brewers to add a new crop to their gardens.

By Bill Ward 

The Willamette vine made it; the other two croaked. His fiancée ran over the Nugget with the lawn mower, and “the Centennial, I found out, had been planted on top of an ant mound,” said David Toews of Minneapolis. Such are the pitfalls of a new gardening project.

So, are we talking heirloom tomatoes? Exotic melons? Actually, this is another type of vine providing something that won’t be found at any farmers’ market.

Hops.

Click here for the full story.