Hoptopia A World of Agriculture and Beer in Oregon&146s Willamette Valley [Hardcover]

The contents of your pint glass have a much richer history than you could have imagined. Through the story of the hop,Hoptopiaconnects twenty-first century beer drinkers to lands and histories that have been forgotten in an era of industrial food production. The craft beer revolution of the late twentieth century is a remarkable global history that converged in the agricultural landscapes of Oregon’s Willamette Valley. The common hop, a plant native to Eurasia, arrived to the Pacific Northwest only in the nineteenth century, but has thrived within the region’s environmental conditions so much that by the first half of the twentieth century, the Willamette Valley claimed the title “Hop Center of the World.”Hoptopiaintegrates an interdisciplinary history of environment, culture, economy, labor, and science through the story of the most indispensible ingredient in beer.

Peter A. Koppis Assistant Professor of History at New Mexico State University, where he also serves as Director of the Public History Program.

"Everyone who enjoys beer, especially craft beer, should read this book. Deeply researched and captivatingly written, Kopp’s book is an education in the global transformations that made possible the Americas' revolution in beer.Hoptopia will change how readers think and—most importantly—how they taste their favorite hoppy beers."—Mark Fiege, Montana State University

"Peter Kopp has produced a masterful work in Hoptopia. He creatively brings together agriculture, agronomy, science, environment, labor, and market economics to tell this story of hop production in Oregon's Willamette Valley. What's beer without hops? What's the history of that crop without all of the important connections explained so well here? Hoptopia is a must-have book for all interested in the history of the PalÃ