Flying Dog wants to resurrect the Maryland Hop Industry

In Frederick, Maryland, Flying Dog Brewery has released their 2020 Field Notes Pale Ale, a beer created in partnership with the University of Maryland (UMD) College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Flying Dog and UMD have been working hand-in-hand for the past 5 years on the future of beer-centric agriculture in the State of Maryland.

Field Notes, brewed using hops grown at UMD’s Western Maryland Research and Education Center in Keedysville, MD, is a crisp and delicious 5.6% pale ale with fruity and citrus hop notes dominating both the aroma and flavor profile. The hops used - Lyon, Glacier and Southern Cross – were chosen after three rounds of blind sensory analysis on the hop varieties harvested by UMD this year.

“There’s no better way to evaluate hops than putting them in a beer, which is exactly why experimental projects like Field Notes are vital to our work with the University of Maryland,” said James Maravetz, VP of Marketing, Flying Dog. “There are no pilot or test brews for this beer, it is a one-time shot to see what notes shine through.”

UMD and Maryland’s largest independent craft brewery have been growing hops in Maryland since the organizations’ partnership began in 2015. At that time, UMD’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources partnered with Flying Dog to study hop production in the State of Maryland. The goal of the study was to gather research and lay the groundwork for a commercially viable hop producing industry in Maryland that mirrors the success of hop growing ventures in the Pacific Northwest.

“Over the past five years we have battled various obstacles, both environmental and manmade, and it is evident that we can produce hops in Maryland,” said Bryan Butler, Extension Agent, UMD College of AGNR. “The question that remains however is, can a consistent, high quality, profitable crop be produced? We look forward to continuing our work to determine the ultimate answer to that question.”

24 hop varietals have been studied to try to identify the strains best suited for production in Maryland’s climate, and to determine the potential challenges Maryland growers may encounter along the entire production chain – from growing to harvesting to processing.

Looking ahead to the next phase of the project, the team will narrow their focus to the 6 most promising strains of hops, work on genotyping a hop that may be native to Maryland, and launch a new course of study at the University of Maryland focused on fermentation.

Field Notes began shipping to Maryland distributors Monday, October 12, 2020 in 4-packs of 16 oz cans. To locate the beer, visit Flying Dog’s Beer Finder (https://www.flyingdog.com/beer-finder/).

About Flying Dog Brewery:As one of the fastest-growing regional craft breweries in the United States, Flying Dog has been brewing world-class beer that pushes the confines of traditional styles for 30 years. Flying Dog attracts everyone from craft beer connoisseurs to those just catching the wave with up to 20 styles available at any given time. Introduced to Flying Dog by the Gonzo writer Hunter S. Thompson, artist Ralph Steadman has produced original art for Flying Dog's labels since 1995. Recent accolades for Flying Dog include its Pale Ale ranked as the #1 American Pale Ale in the U.S. by The New York Times. For more information, visit www.flyingdog.com.