Hop Harvest Festival explores state’s brewing history

MUMFORD – History and craft beer combines for the annual Hop Harvest Festival at Genesee Country Village & Museum, 1410 Flint Hill Rd.

The event, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 2, explores beer and brewing in New York State as it follows the journey of hops – one of New York’s original cash crops – from field to brewery to pint glass.

During this family-friendly celebration, visitors are invited to tour a working 19th-century brewery, taste historical beers and local craft brews, learn about hop production and usage in 19th-century New York. There is also live music and a Beer Garden.

Visitors will be able to learn what role women and migrant workers played in the hop harvesting and drying process, explore the medicinal purposes of hops, savor the aromas of historic “receipts” (called recipes, today) cooking in historic kitchens, and learn about the varieties of yeasts used to brew and bake.

Historian Jane Oakes will deliver a talk, “19th-Century Brewing in the Genesee Valley,” that covers 19th-century hop production, touches on the growing of hops, the social aspect of hops, hop harvesting, how hops were used for brewing and medicine and the boom and bust of the local hops industry.

Grieve’s Brewery is a reconstruction of a circa 1803 brewery from Geneva, with portions of Rochester’s Enright Brewery and an early timber-framed structure from West Bloomfield. Visitors are invited to tour through all three levels of the brewery and learn how in 1850, New York State became a leading producer of hops.

Visitors can enjoy two craft beers on tap at GCV&M, both brewed referencing historical beer recipes by Rohrbach Brewing Co. Local breweries including Dublin Corners Farm Brewery and Talking Cursive Brewing Company will be on-site pouring samples in the Beer Garden (the list of participating breweries can be found at https://www.gcv.org/event/hop-harvest-festival-2/.

Live music in the Beer Garden will be provided by Rochester-area bands The Flowerhead Folks and Stunt Double. Visitors can also enjoy traditional dances in costume on the Carport Stage by the Heindengold German Dancers and alphorn music by The Swiss Alphorn Society of Western New York on the Whistlestop Stage.

Tickets are available online at https://www.gcv.org/event/hop-harvest-festival-2/ .

Cheers to historic beers! Get hand-on with history at Genesee Country Village & Museum’s annual Hop Harvest Festival on Sept. 2.

Johnson Newspapers 7.1