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Colorado grower hops on a new crop

Inside a spacious greenhouse in Fort Collins, Colorado, a kaleidoscope of red and blue lights beam down on rows of hop plants.

Hops are a key ingredient in beer, and they typically flower just once a year in this mountainous state. But Bill Bauerle, who runs the greenhouse, recently picked his fourth crop since January thanks to the manipulative powers of his energy-efficient, color-changing LED lights.

Bauerle is a professor of horticulture at Colorado State University and an expert in “hoponics” — the science and technology of growing hydroponic hops.

After each harvest, he trucks the fragrant, pine cone-shaped-flowers over to nearby craft breweries, which transform the fresh hops into small batches of India pale, extra pale or golden ales.

With his 3,200-square-foot research operation, Bauerle said he hopes to create a new business model to satisfy Colorado’s insatiable thirst for locally-made craft beers.

“These breweries would like a local, quality hop. They haven’t been able to get that up until now,” Bauerle told Mashable from Fort Collins.

Read more at Mashable
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