There’s a new hop yard growing right outside Chilliwack’s largest brewery, but the ingredient will not be used to brew Molson Coors beers.
Students from Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) are the ones who will get hands-on experience at the new research and development hop field, which was unveiled in Chilliwack on Thursday (July 23). Molson Coors Fraser Valley Brewery has partnered with KPU on the project which supports the university’s B.C. hop variety development program.
The site will facilitate field trials of hops from the hop variety development program, which has been led by KPU’s Applied Genomics Centre (AGC) since 2018 in partnership with the BC Hop Growers Association.
“This project gives us a dedicated research field where we can grow things outside of the commercial scope and explore challenges that growers are facing in order make better-informed breeding decisions,” said AGC researcher Mathias Schuetz, who is leading the project.
Hops, which are the female flowers of the plant species humulus lupulus, are used to provide flavour and aromas to beer while also functioning as a natural preservative.
The Fraser Valley has a longstanding history of hop production. In the 1940s, the Fraser Valley was ranked as the largest hop-growing region in the Commonwealth.
Using state-of-the-art DNA analysis and chemical techniques, KPU researchers are helping local hop production thrive again by creating new, climate-resilient varieties.
“We’re crossing different plants to create varieties with desirable traits, which we are then planting and evaluating in the field,” Schuetz said. “The idea is to create something that is resilient against heat and drought, while also being profitable and desirable for brewing.
“We have a dedicated space now to evaluate new varieties, including those ones that are very, very sick and can’t be grown on commercial farms. For us, as researchers, it’s equally important to know why something doesn’t work in addition to what does work,” Schuetz said.
Diane Purvey, KPU president called it a fast-track system for B.C.’s bio economy, and one that will tackle the biggest challenges facing the agricultural sector.
“We are driving climate-resilient agriculture by researching data-driven irrigation practices to fight water scarcities,” she said. “We are leveraging genomic variety development to breed high-performing hops, optimized specifically for our Pacific Northwest climate.”
The project has been in the works for a year. Researchers and students established the hop yard from the ground up by prepping the field and planting the first experimental varieties developed at the AGC.
Beyond testing new hop varieties, the field will also serve as a space to research best irrigation practices and more.
“Hops are a critical ingredient in brewing, and the Fraser Valley remains one of the country’s most important hop-growing regions,” Graham Kendall, general manager of the Molson Coors Fraser Valley Brewery said.
He said the project will benefit students, plus local brewers, hop growers, and the farming community.
The students learn about DNA, science, technology and genomics, added Paul Adams, director of the AGC.
“But most importantly, they’re visiting Molson, they’re visiting the hop growers, learning about the industry… and using post-secondary education and technology to help solve those problems,” Adams said.
The hop yard serves as a living classroom and laboratory for KPU students from multiple programs like horticulture, biology, brewing, and computer science.
Students in the Brewing and Brewery Operations program at KPU’s Langley campus – which also includes an on-site brewery – are helping test how new varieties perform by transforming experimental hops into small-batch beers, one of which was served at the unveiling.
“I do a mixture of lab work and field work, which includes prepping the field, managing the irrigation system and collecting data on new varieties we’re trying out,” said Spencer LePage, an AGC student research assistant and third-year horticulture student at KPU. “I’ve had a really great experience so far, and feel like this work really helps bridge that gap between just learning about concepts in classes and actually doing them in real life.”