This content was originally published by The Hop Review, a digital magazine that joined the Hop Culture family in March 2020.
This piece was written by Tom White.
In this week’s Hoplinks, a Scottish brewer wants to open a pub in your hometown, a few idiots break into a hop farm, an early adopter brewery struggles in Maine, and the first of the 2016 “Best Of” lists hits our inbox.
ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND — After announcing plans to open their first US outpost in Columbus next year, Scottish brewer BrewDog wants to open a pub in your hometown. Any city which provides more than 500 investors through their Equity for Punks program will be a candidate for a brew pub within 12 months. As fans of the brewery’s other locations around the world, the chance to bring one to Chicago is tempting. [THR Wire]
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND, CANADA — A hop farm in Canada was broken into recently after three people mistook their product for marijuana and decided to grab the goods for themselves. Police say the break in was severe enough to impact “the farm’s ability to provide quality product to market.” No word on if the perpetrators attempted to smoke the hop cones. [CBC News]
PORTLAND, ME — The brewery that started it all in Maine’s now booming brewery scene is having a hard time of late. D.L. Geary Brewing Co., founded in 1983, has seen beer production drop nearly 35% since 2011. As the beer industry continues to explode, adaption to avoid becoming irrelevant in an ever changing market is something many of the established breweries will need to address. [Portland Press Herald]
USA — As we near the end of 2016, we’ll undoubtedly be seeing many a “Best Of” list come through our inbox. The first to do so comes from Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine, in which they’ve listed top breweries and beers in dozens of categories. Any on there they missed? [Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine]
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Photo of a hop cone (which does not look like marijuana) from our Harvest 2016 visit to Goose Island’s Elk Mountain Farm in Bonners Ferry, Idaho — by Jack Muldowney.