A few years ago, University of Maryland Extension, in partnership with Flying Dog Brewery, established a 1/2-acre hops yard at the Agricultural Experiment Station in Keedysville, MD. Trials were performed to identify varieties best suited for production in Maryland and potential challenges from growing to pelletization to final product.

Flying Dog’s “Field Notes” beer is the public, drinkable output of this multi-year hops research effort meant to figure out whether Maryland can reliably grow commercially viable hops (and what varieties/practices work best).