Ruhstaller Beer is a beverage with a heritage in the Sacramento Valley that can be followed back to its first incarnation, 150 years ago.

And J.E. Paino, owner of the Sacramento-based brewery and graduate of the School of Management at UC Davis, said there’s just as rich a local history attached to the beer’s ingredients.

“No one talks about it, because we have Napa Valley right here,” Paino said. “And there’s 3,000 wineries down there. … Maybe it’s that beer isn’t as ‘sexy’ as wine.”

This region was, in fact, once an epicenter of hops growing, before Prohibition took effect in 1919. Hops even remained an important part of the local agriculture scene sometime thereafter, as the 1937 Yolo County crop report tallied 1,200 acres of hops.

But those days have long since passed, and now Paino can think of only 50 acres worth of hops planted in the entire state of California in 2013. In Paino’s view, it’s an unfortunate fact for those who want to claim a truly local beer.

“When we talk about local beer, is it where the factory is, or where the hops are grown?” he said. “When you go to the grocery store, you don’t care where the milk was processed, or where the peaches were packed. Why should it be different with beer?”

Thus, the legacy of Ruhstaller Beer has been to reflect its roots as a regional brew through its ingredients, not just where it’s brewed.

Last year, Paino paired with Sean McNamara of Blue Heron Hop Yard in Winters to plant a quarter-acre of hops. In August 2012, volunteers helped pick the first crop, to be used in a limited “Hop Sac” ale.

Paino is now working with farmer Rich Collins and his wife Shelly to secure at least another acre and a half of hops. It will be grown on a plot of land four miles west of Davis, just off of Interstate 80.

Paino is adding a roadside stand to the hop farm, as a means of introducing the public to the local crop. The set-up will include a display of the evolution of trellis growing techniques.

“Is someone going to exit that freeway just to drink beer? Maybe. But I believe more will come to learn,” he said. “People drive up and down Napa Valley to do that. There’s no guarantee. … It’s an experiment.”

Paino predicted that beers made using local hops will cost an additional 50 cents per bottle. To justify the cost, it’s essential that the consumer is aware of the value and purpose of the ingredient.

Charles Bamforth, professor of malting and brewing sciences at UCD, explained that hops impact beer in ways other than flavor alone, such as by helping to stabilize the bubbles and preserve the product.

Bamforth has led some of his students to internships with Paino; the interns, in turn, have assisted with some of the labor required in building the trellises, such as stringing up cables and planting wooden poles in the ground.

When the vines of hops sprout and crawl up the trellis wires, they will be used for another variety of Ruhstaller Beer. The blooming hops (which are actually a type of flower) are there also for educational intent.

“If people at least know that hops are used to make beer, that’s enormous,” he said, “but it’s even bigger to learn of the varieties, and what they look like, smell like. And if we eventually do tastings here, what each tastes like.”

The roadside stand, which has been in the works since March, will include a kiln for a hops-drying demonstration once complete.

Since a normally constructed kiln would require a building permit, the canny Paino and crew are using a modified shipping container with a perforated floor and makeshift chimney.

“It will be the first kiln in the valley for more than 30 years,” Paino said. “It will be fully operational, no power necessary. … It would be enough to handle five acres of hops in full production.”

The hop yard will be presentable by Thursday, June 6, Paino added. He’s planning for an opening ceremony of sorts at 6:30 p.m. that day.

The event, which will require a small fee for entrance, will feature food provided by Nugget Market and cooked by Sacramento’s Grange Restaurant and Bar. A live band will perform during the evening.

When asked if this hops stand will be the first step to a revival of hops growing in the region, Bamforth expressed optimism.

“Hopefully, people will get to realize that there are many hop varieties, each with its own characteristics and distinct identity,” he explained, “whether it be a rich bitterness potential or a sublime aroma.

“The mission for ‘locally grown’ is spreading, and with the resurgent brewing industry in the region it will be a tremendous thing if the cultivation of hops is similarly rediscovered as a significant crop as once it was.”

Paino is skeptical about the revival, as certain criteria are lacking: a commercial hops picker and a bit more acreage devoted to hops locally, to say the least.

But even with all the benchmarks still to be met before this crop’s popularity is reinstated, Paino is hoping for his stand to reach at least one:

“My father’s generation learned that where Chardonnay grows on one side of the mountain, it tastes different on another. He had to be shown that. He could be told it all day long, but he had to taste the difference.”

— Reach Brett Johnson at [email protected] or 530-747-8052. Follow him on Twitter at @ReporterBrett

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J.E. Paino, a UC Davis School of Management graduate and owner of the Sacramento-based Ruhstaller Beer brewery, works at his small hops farm along Interstate 80 four miles west of Davis. He plans to open a roadside stand there to educate passing motorists about hops. Sue Cockrell/Enterprise photo

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Hops come in many varieties, brewer J.E. Paino says. Sue Cockrell/Enterprise photo

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Trevor Fleshman, a UC Davis senior, helps build the trellis structure that will hold the growing hops vines at J.E. Paino’s small plot of land west of Davis. Paino is now partnering with farmer Rich Collins and his wife Shelly on the 1 1/2 acres of hops. Sue Cockrell/Enterprise photo

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