Bison Releases Oakland Hop Harvest Ale

Bison brews special beer with Oakland-grown Cascade hops

October 22, 2013 (Berkeley, Calif.)––In the fall of 2012, the City of Oakland approached Bison Organic Beer about growing organic hops in one of their Community Gardens. As a resident of Oakland, Bison’s Sales Manager Mark Cabrera thought it was a great idea and immediately began researching which hop varietals would thrive the best in Oakland’s weather.

The research came back with a resounding vote for Cascade–a hop varietal known for its flowery, citrus-like quality and slight grapefruit characteristic. Bison planted the Cascade hops in various community and home gardens through Oakland last March.

“When we started our project, we were told not to expect many hops in our first year. It is not until the second and third years that you really get some hop volume,” explains Mark Cabrera. “If that is true, I cannot wait until next year. We were able to harvest quite a bit, from multiple locations, including Lake Merit Community Garden, People’s Victory Garden & my house.”

This year’s harvest yielded nearly 30lbs of fresh Cascade hops. To celebrate the Oakland hop harvest, Bison brewed a special 15 bbl batch of its Hop Cuvée, a West Coast-style pale ale, with the fresh Oakland-grown cascade hops. Dubbed the Oakland Hop Harvest Ale, this special release will only be available on draft at restaurants and bars in the Bay Area.

Bison will be tapping the Oakland Hop Harvest Ale on Saturday, November 9th at the Hops ‘N Harvest Benefit at the Peoples Victory Garden in Oakland. The event will include a brewing demonstration and tasting with Bison Organic Beer, edible garden classes, live music and various activities for adults and children. Food from Fist of Flour Pizza Company and Rosamunde Sausage Grill will be available for purchase.

Tickets are available in advance for $10 or at the door for $15. Profits from ticket sales will go towards the Victory Garden Foundation. For more information and tickets, visit: victorygardenfoundation.org or call: 800-971-6620.

Ashley Routson

Ashley Routson, known amongst the craft beer community as The Beer Wench, is a self-proclaimed craft beer evangelist and social media maven on a mission to advance the craft beer industry through education, inspiration and advocacy. She is the author of The Beer Wench's Guide to Beer: An Unpretentious Guide to Craft Beer.