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Date Published: 28/07/2021
ARCHIVED - Experimental hop growing project in north-west Murcia looking positive
The aim of the brewery is to only use locally-grown produce to make Murcia’s regional beer
The Estrella de Levante brewery in Espinardo, in the northwest of the city of Murcia, has been engaged in an experimental project since 2018, the idea being to try and produce hops grown in the Murcia region with which to manufacture a truly all-Murcian beer.
The project originally began at the ‘Las Nogueras’ Agricultural Research Centre and has now spread to five hectares of land between Caravaca de la Cruz and Moratalla, in the north-west of the region. In 2020 the project started to give real hope of success, with the first "proper" crop from the established hop bines.
Hops are perennials, so require at least two years before they start to produce any sort of crop.
Hops provide the degree of bitterness and aromas that beer requires due to their lupulin content, a substance made up of essential oils that give the different aromas to beer, and of resins that provide alpha-acids, responsible for its bitter taste. In addition, hops also contribute to the formation and stabilization of beer foam.
On Tuesday, July 27, the general manager of the brewery took a tour around the crops growing in the scheme to assess the progress of the harvest, which has already entered its production phase.
According to the brewery manager, the objective is that the brewery can use predominantly local raw materials and thus become a “zero kilometre beer”, something that very few in the sector have managed to do.
And for the agricultural sector, growing hops is another possibility as the agricultural sector seeks new crops which require less water, can cope with the specific weather conditions of this region and can give profitable yields.
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