MUNICH (AP) — The keys to combating the climate change that's wreaking havoc on Germany's beer industry could lie inside a plant nursery — nicknamed "our kindergarten" — at the Society of Hop Research north of Munich. The 7,000 seedlings there are a mix of new varieties that sprouted from research, education and centuries-old German traditions in hops farming and beer brewing. The hope is that the plants will grow to be seven to eight meters (23 to 26 feet) tall and strong enough to withstand a multitude of diseases and disasters thrown at them — like rising temperatures, drought and the dreaded powdery mildew that can wipe out entire crops.
At every stage, the plants will be incorporated into education in university and vocational school classrooms, breweries and farms across Germany . Generations of professional farmers and brewers, as well as the students who seek to join their ranks, will learn much from the growing plants: Which new varieties should be added to decrease the risk of a bad year wiping out a farm's entire harvest, whether the latest breeds offer a new taste for the market, and if a specific type is particularly resistant to disease. The seedlings’ successes — or failures — could determine the fate of the country's famed Hallertau region , the world’s largest hops-growing area where most of the farms' crops will end up in beer.
If the hops stay alive and thrive, the vines will graduate next year to trellises in trial fields in the heart of Ba.