A breakthrough in local craft beer! The original intention of growing native hops in Taiwan's mountains is to make monkeys don't like to eat them!

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Hualien Luoshao this autumn and winter is not quite the same as before, full of fragrant mountains and forests have an extra fragrance of beer. In recent years, there has been a trend of craft beer in Taiwan, and many manufacturers or self-brewers have begun to use local wheat or ingredients to make wine, but the "hops" that bring a unique flavor to beer have never been able to grow on a large scale in Taiwan because of the hot climate. Tsai Chien-fu, an associate professor at the School of Environment at Donghua University, tried to grow hops in Luoshao at high altitude this year. After four months, he finally blossomed smoothly and produced the first batch of beer.

Tsai Ching-hsiu, a professor at the Institute of Biotechnology at Chung Hsing University, believes that the low temperatures and long sunshine in Taiwan's high mountains are suitable for the growth of hops and have great potential. The domestic craft hops industry has different views on the first batch of hops in Taiwan, but they all look forward to the performance of domestic hops and show their unique flavor through the local customs of Taiwan.

The hops photography used in this homemade brew _ Lin Yijun has the most beautiful scenery, mountains beside the road, mountain pigs playing in the water into Luoshao.

From Hualien Station to the north to the Shakadang Trail, it winds its way up the Zhongheng Highway, with white clouds floating like marshmallows, mountain peaks and lush woods outside the window. This place has been voted one of the top 10 most beautiful scenic highways in Taiwan. Along the way, enjoy the scenery of Taroko National Park, after an hour and a half drive, parked in Luoshao, 1117 meters above sea level.

"Luo Shao's name is beautiful, but the real meaning is far from the same." Tsai Chien-fu, an associate professor at the School of Environment at Donghua University, explains with a smile that most people think that Luoshao is a time of Luoshui, but in fact Luoshao is a homonym for the aborigines to call this place in the past, and the real meaning is a pool of muddy water after mountain pigs play in the water.

There are about a dozen households in Luoshaoshan village, and there is more fairy air far away from the hustle and bustle in the cool air, but people here change their faces as soon as they see monkeys. "not only monkeys, but also mountain pigs and mountain Qiang are enemies that affect farmers' income." Tsai Chien-fu said that some residents and national park volunteers have found more than 20 hunting gear and beasts in the mountains and forests, and incidents of poisoning wild animals have been heard of from time to time.

From the 1700-meter Chaoliang Farm, you can see the towering fruits and vegetables of Luoshao (Photo _ Lin Yijun). The farmer is guarded by monkey nets and sky cannons.

Luoshao and its neighboring new poplars and Xibao produce peaches, watermelons and plums, apples, pears, cabbage and baby vegetables, which are sunny enough and cool at high altitude to make the crops particularly delicious. however, the agricultural products that can be delivered to the flat land are the result of the struggle of farmers and monkeys.

When I came to Chaoliang Farm in New White Poplar, the steep slopes of 1700 meters above sea level and more than 30 degrees made people gasp for breath. After several adventurous wrestling and preventing strangers from barking, I finally met its owner, Yang Chaoliang. He neatly put the monkey net in the bag, carried it on his back and walked back to Gongliao. "the monkeys are very smart. At first they scared us with sky-high guns, but then they found that we would fire them when we were going down the mountain, so they added more monkey nets."

There are peaches, cabbage, baby vegetables and so on on the farm, and all the flatter places are used to grow vegetables. Yang Chaoliang says that after changing from habitual practice to organic farming law, what remains unchanged is the opposition to monkeys and other animals, sometimes compromising some for animals to eat. "but monkeys are never obedient. They are beautiful and want to stay and sell. The more they will eat."

Yang Chaoliang, owner of Chaoliang Farm, is collecting the monkey net (photo _ Lin Yijun) hoping that alpine agriculture will be turned into hops. Monkeys don't like it, so there is no conflict.

When Cai Jianfu went to Luoshao to find bamboo in order to learn to make a cave Xiao, he saw that local farmers clashed with animals to protect their crops. "in order to protect crops, people drive monkeys and mountain pigs around, and even release beasts." From the point of view of conservation, he began to think about whether it was possible to resolve the antagonism between humans and animals, and later became acquainted with friends of Hualien's home-brewed beer, which triggered an inspiration.

"Hops have a bitter taste and ciliated stems and leaves, so animals should not like them, while hops can brew beer and may replace some alpine crops." He, who specializes in ecological communities and rural development, believes that the local climatic conditions are suitable for growing hops, and if alpine farmers are allowed to change their jobs, they can maintain their income and resolve the hostile relationship with animals, which is the best solution to both worlds.

Wang Huisi (first from left), Cai Jianfu (first from right), associate professor of School of Environment, Donghua University, and Dr. Xie (middle) _ (photography _ Lin Yijun), who accompanied Cai Jianfu to study brewing, wanted to grow hops and learn to drink and brew first.

"I didn't really drink much or like it before, but I started drinking seriously in order to grow hops." Cai Jianfu said with a smile that in order to confirm the feasibility of growing hops, he began to collect hop information, find a suitable growing environment, learn to drink, identify the flavor of all kinds of beer, and practice how to brew beer.

At the beginning of this year, he began to look for flower plants. after more than four months of waiting in Luoshao in May this year, he harvested the first batch of hops in mid-September. Since it was the first time he had planted it, Tsai Chien-fu admitted that the process was not smooth. "then he tried to raise more than 200 seedlings, but only more than 50 survived, and more research is needed on seedling raising techniques."

Some of the harvested hops were sun-dried and some of the wet flowers were preserved at a low temperature. At that time, there was a lot of work in the school, and it didn't start brewing until November 30. "this may be the first batch of beer brewed with hops in Taiwan." He put the hops into the wort boiled in the pot, and the aroma immediately pervaded the kitchen, and it would take three weeks to know its flavor.

After three stages of boiling wort, add hops (Photo _ Lin Yijun)