Hop harvest arrives at Steamworks Brewing Co. to make special beer

Ken Martin, master brewer for Steamworks Brewing Co., sniffs Chinook and Cascade hops that were harvested from Pine River Hops on Wednesday in front of Steamworks. The hops were harvested at a Bayfield-area farm and are being used to brew Colorado Proud Pale Ale, a beer that is made with only Colorado ingredients.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

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Ken Martin, master brewer for Steamworks Brewing Co., sniffs Chinook and Cascade hops that were harvested from Pine River Hops on Wednesday in front of Steamworks. The hops were harvested at a Bayfield-area farm and are being used to brew Colorado Proud Pale Ale, a beer that is made with only Colorado ingredients.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Paul Black, manager of Pine River Hops, feeds hops into a portable harvester in front of Steamworks Brewing Co. on Wednesday morning. The hops were harvested at a Bayfield-area farm and are being used to brew Colorado Proud Pale Ale, a beer that is made with only Colorado ingredients.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

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Paul Black, manager of Pine River Hops, feeds hops into a portable harvester in front of Steamworks Brewing Co. on Wednesday morning. The hops were harvested at a Bayfield-area farm and are being used to brew Colorado Proud Pale Ale, a beer that is made with only Colorado ingredients.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Paul Black, center, manager of Pine River Hops, feeds hops into a portable harvester on Wednesday as Kevin Lombard, left, associate professor with the New Mexico State University Agriculture Center in Farmington, and Jim Hendricks help out in front of Steamworks Brewing Co. on Wednesday morning. The hops were harvested at a Bayfield-area farm and are being used to brew Colorado Proud Pale Ale, a beer that is made with only Colorado ingredients.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

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Paul Black, center, manager of Pine River Hops, feeds hops into a portable harvester on Wednesday as Kevin Lombard, left, associate professor with the New Mexico State University Agriculture Center in Farmington, and Jim Hendricks help out in front of Steamworks Brewing Co. on Wednesday morning. The hops were harvested at a Bayfield-area farm and are being used to brew Colorado Proud Pale Ale, a beer that is made with only Colorado ingredients.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Ken Martin, master brewer for Steamworks Brewing Co., stirs the Chinook and Cascade hops as they steep in the wort to utilize the flavor and aroma of the hop properties. The hops were harvested from Pine River Hops earlier in the day to be used to brew Colorado Proud Pale Ale, a beer that is made with only Colorado ingredients.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

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Ken Martin, master brewer for Steamworks Brewing Co., stirs the Chinook and Cascade hops as they steep in the wort to utilize the flavor and aroma of the hop properties. The hops were harvested from Pine River Hops earlier in the day to be used to brew Colorado Proud Pale Ale, a beer that is made with only Colorado ingredients.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Fresh hops from Pine River Hops are being used to brew Colorado Proud Pale Ale. Steamworks Brewing Co. is making the beer with ingredients exclusively gathered from Colorado suppliers.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

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Fresh hops from Pine River Hops are being used to brew Colorado Proud Pale Ale. Steamworks Brewing Co. is making the beer with ingredients exclusively gathered from Colorado suppliers.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Fresh hops from Pine River Hops are being used to brew Colorado Proud Pale Ale, a beer being brewed at Steamworks Brewing Co., that is made with only Colorado ingredients.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

×

Fresh hops from Pine River Hops are being used to brew Colorado Proud Pale Ale, a beer being brewed at Steamworks Brewing Co., that is made with only Colorado ingredients.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

A sweet and calming aroma filled the air in front of Steamworks Brewing Co. on Wednesday morning as a mobile hop harvester stripped cones from vines.

The harvester rumbled as the tines removed the hops and leaves, and the conveyor belts separated leaves and cones and spit out buckets of hops, destined for the mash tun, a huge metal pot, where they will steep, Steamworks Head Brewer Ken Martin said.

In 17 or 18 days, Steamworks will be ready to pour its Colorado Proud Pale Ale with a distinct flavor derived from the hops, he said.

Kiln-dried and pelletized hops are common ingredients in many beers. He likened using fresh hops to swapping fresh fruit for dried fruit in any recipe.

“It tastes and smells fresher,” Martin said.

Paul Black delivered about 60 pounds of Chinook and Cascade hops recently harvested from the farm he manages in the Pine River Valley for the ale, he said.

Steamworks also plans to use Colorado-produced yeast and barley grown in the San Luis Valley.

“We just wanted to showcase the ingredients that are made here locally,” he said.

The company expects to make about 10 barrels of the ale.

mshinn@durangoherald.com