Spanish Company Aims High with Indoor Growing Plan for Beer Ingredient

Spanish Company Aims High with Indoor Growing Plan for Beer Ingredient

In large buildings outside Madrid, Spain's capital, hop¹ vines grow under special lights and close supervision².

A small company believes growing the vines will be important to ensuring a supply of an ingredient in beer, the world's most popular alcoholic³ drink.

Hops⁴ are traditionally grown in areas like Bavaria, Germany, the Czech Republic, or the northwestern United States. That is because the plants need a climate that has long summer days and mild temperatures.

Javier Ramiro, Co-Chief Scientific Officer of Spanish indoor hops farming start-up Ekonoke controls the plantation⁵ of hops in Alcobendas, Spain, March 23, 2023. (REUTERS/Juan Medina)

Javier Ramiro, Co-Chief Scientific Officer of Spanish indoor hops farming start-up Ekonoke controls the plantation of hops in Alcobendas, Spain, March 23, 2023. (REUTERS/Juan Medina)

However, research shows environmental changes are driving down yields and quality of hops. It is a growing problem for the beer industry.

Industry groups say U.S. production was down 12 percent in 2022, while German production decreased by 21 percent. Czech yields fell by more than 40 percent because of unusually hot weather.

Spain's Ekonoke is a kind of small business known as a start-up. Ekonoke is growing hop vines indoors to solve the problem. The company uses nearly 95 percent less water than traditional outdoor farming systems.

"We're on a mission to save the world's beer," Ines Sagrario, co-founder of Ekonoke, told the Reuters news agency.

The start-up's 11-member team of scientists experiments with different groupings of light and fertilizer and water mixtures.

The goal is to increase production of substances such as alpha-acids and essential oils. These give hops the bitter and fruity smells that are enjoyed by beer lovers.

A large number of sensors⁶ are attached to the vines to measure water and carbon dioxide levels. Special LED lights change colors in the growing area.

"These hops have never seen any sunlight, only our own light show," said Javier Ramiro, a scientist with Ekonoke.

To finance its research and growth plans, Ekonoke is working with the Hijos de Rivera group, makers⁷ of the popular Estrella Galicia beer.

The growers said the next step is to increase production to three rooms of up to 400 plants each.

Sagrario said that in the future, indoor growing areas could be set up near beer makers. These growing areas could reuse the carbon dioxide released during fermentation.

The company is part of Anheuser-Busch InBev's (ABI) 100+ sustainability accelerator program. This program aims to give financing to companies that offer improvements in environmental and social problems.

ABI's Willy Buholzer called the business "very promising⁹." But he said it remains¹⁰ to be seen if it can grow and sell hops that are able to compete with traditional producers.

"You should not underestimate traditional (outdoor) hop growers. They always come up with new ideas," he added.

The most obvious difficulty indoor farming faces, he said, is its high energy cost.

But Buholzer believes high energy prices will return to normal. He added that special varieties and more harvests could make indoor farming competitive in pricing.

"You can't make beer without hops, and they don't want to produce less," Sagrario said.

Ekonoke's plan, she added, is to set up indoor growing areas around the world. "This can be grown anywhere: Madrid, Sevastopol or Timbuktu."

Words in This Story

hop – n. a kind of plant whose dried flowers are used to make the alcoholic drink beer

vine – n. a plant that has very long stems and that grows along the ground or up and around something

ingredient –n. one of the things used to make a food product

yield – n. the amount of something that is produced by a plant, farm, etc.

fertilizer – n. a substance (such as manure¹¹ or a special chemical) that is added to soil to help the growth of plants

ferment⁸ – v. to go through a chemical change that results in the production of alcohol

1 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

2 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

3 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

4 hops   

跳上[下]( hop的第三人称单数 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花

参考例句：

• The sparrow crossed the lawn in a series of hops. 那麻雀一蹦一跳地穿过草坪。
• It is brewed from malt and hops. 它用麦精和蛇麻草酿成。

5 plantation   

n.种植园，大农场

参考例句：

• His father-in-law is a plantation manager.他岳父是个种植园经营者。
• The plantation owner has possessed himself of a vast piece of land.这个种植园主把大片土地占为己有。

6 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

7 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 ferment   

vt.使发酵；n./vt.（使）激动，（使）动乱

参考例句：

• Fruit juices ferment if they are kept a long time.果汁若是放置很久，就会发酵。
• The sixties were a time of theological ferment.六十年代是神学上骚动的时代。

9 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 manure   

n.粪，肥，肥粒；vt.施肥

参考例句：

• The farmers were distributing manure over the field.农民们正在田间施肥。
• The farmers used manure to keep up the fertility of their land.农夫们用粪保持其土质的肥沃。