Homebrewing Hero Charlie Papazian Brewed a Beer with Smithsonian-Grown Hops

Charlie Papazian, the homebrewing hero responsible for such things as the American Homebrewers Association, Brewers Association, and Great American Beer Festival, did what is quite possibly the coolest and nerdiest thing ever known to the homebrewsphere: He brewed a beer using hops grown at the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History.

The hops were gifted to Papazian after he reportedly visited the museum and commented that “it would be cool to brew with [them],” CraftBeer.com writes. Papazian, also known as the “Godfather of Homebrewing,” and author of The Homebrewer’s Companion (the book that taught many modern brewers their craft), received the Smithsonian Victory Garden’s entire lot of Cascade hops.

As a nod to one of his fondest Cascade-hop-related memories, Papazian brewed a porter modeled after a beer poured at the first-ever Great American Beer Festival in 1982, Falstaff Brewery’s Narragansett Porter. According to Papazian, the porter had “a perfect foundation of malt character that elevated what I would call ‘old school’ Cascade hop flavor and aroma.”

To fully geek out, watch a video of Papazian’s Smithsonian Porter brew day here.