Sun, Apr 16, 2023 page12

• Spanish start-up grows hydroponic hops to help ‘save’ climate-threatened beer

  Removing the need for importing hops, indoor plantations could be set up next to brewers as a carbon sink, reusing carbon dioxide emitted during fermentation, the company said

  • By David Latona / Reuters, MADRID
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  In warehouses outside Madrid, twists of hop vines grow under LED lights and close supervision in what their guardians say could be the best way to futureproof the supply of a key ingredient in the world’s most popular alcoholic drink, now threatened by climate change.

  Due to their need for “goldilocks” conditions of long summer days and mild temperatures, hops are traditionally grown in temperate climes found in areas like Germany’s Hallertau area, the Czech Republic or the northwestern US.

  However, research shows that more frequent droughts and plagues due to global warming are driving down both yields and quality — a growing headache for the beer industry.

  

  Ana Saez, chief operations officer of Spanish indoor hops farming start-up Ekonoke, inspects a plantation of hops in Alcobendas, Spain, on March 23.

  Photo: Reuters

  US production was down 12 percent year-on-year last year, while German output saw a 21 percent decline and Czech yields fell by more than 40 percent due to abnormally hot and dry growing conditions, growers’ associations say.

  Spain’s Ekonoke is seeking a solution by cultivating the water-intensive vines indoors through renewable-powered hydroponic systems that use nearly 95 percent less water than traditional outdoor farming.

  “We’re on a mission to save the world’s beer,” Ekonoke chief executive and cofounder Ines Sagrario said.

  

  A woman pours a beer made using hops cultivated by Ekonoke, a Spanish indoor hops farming start-up, in Madrid on March 30.

  Photo: Reuters
  Warning: Excessive consumption of alcohol can damage your health

  The start-up’s 11-member team of agronomists, chemists and biotechnologists tinkers with combinations of light and fertigation — the blending of fertilizers and water — at its test facility near Madrid, seeking the “secret sauce” that best suits each variety.

  The ultimate goal is to maximize production of alpha-acids and essential oils that impart the bitter and fruity aromas so cherished by craft beer enthusiasts.

  Dozens of sensors hooked to the leaves, roots and stems of the tall-growing climbers measure every parameter, from humidity to carbon dioxide levels, as changing wavelengths from LED lights give the repurposed warehouses a nightclub-like feel.

  

  Ekonoke co-chief scientific officer Javier Ramiro inspects an indoor plantation of hops in Alcobendas, Spain, on March 23.

  Photo: Reuters

  “These hops have never seen any sunlight, only our own light show,” Ekonoke co-chief scientific officer Javier Ramiro said.

  Strict hygiene measures such as protective clothing for staff ensure the space remains pest-free, taking the pesticides on which traditional farming often depends out of the equation.

  To fund its research and expansion plans, Ekonoke has partnered with the Hijos de Rivera SA, makers of the popular Estrella Galicia brand, who have developed a limited edition IPA using Ekonoke’s hops that is already on tap in a bar in Madrid’s hip Chueca neighborhood.

  Their next step is to upscale production to three rooms of up to 400 plants each from several dozen at a 1,200m2 pilot facility in northwestern Galicia. There, they plan to test automated postharvest processes.

  Indoor plantations could ideally be set up next door to brewers, acting as a carbon sink by reusing the carbon dioxide emitted during fermentation to speed up the plants’ photosynthesis and recycling filtered water residues left over from the manufacturing, Sagrario said.

  The start-up is also part of industry giant Anheuser-Busch InBev NV’s 100+ sustainability accelerator program.

  Anheuser-Busch InBev’s director for global hops procurement, Willy Buholzer, said the key question for “very promising” ventures such as Ekonoke is whether they can grow and sell premium hops that are able to compete against more than 1,000 years of history in a sometimes conservative sector with conservative consumers.

  “You should not underestimate traditional [outdoor] hop growers. They always come up with new ideas,” he added.

  The most obvious challenge indoor farming faces is its high energy cost, he said.

  However, he said he is optimistic that soaring energy prices would normalize, while the added value of a secure supply of special varieties and more frequent harvests resulting in higher yields per hectare could make indoor farming competitive in pricing.

  “Demand from breweries is quite inelastic; you can’t make beer without hops and they don’t want to produce less,” Sagrario said.

  Ekonoke’s endgame is to set up indoor plantations all across the globe, she said.

  “This can be grown anywhere: Madrid, Sevastopol or Timbuktu,” she added.
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