Brewery’s hops garden mistaken for weeds, destroyed by city workers, PA company says
A brewery lost its hops crop after city workers mistook the garden for weeds, the Pennsylvania company said.
“Despite our clear signage and fenced off area, the City of Philadelphia took it upon themselves to completely destroy our hop garden,” Philadelphia Brewing Co. posted on Instagram on Wednesday, Sept. 14.
Photos showed the garden before and after city workers came by. White planters sat empty and a few scraggly vines hung where the thick green hops crop had grown, photos show.
“We lost over 60 pounds of hops (and tens of thousands of dollars in projected revenue) that were to be used in our beloved wet-hopped IPA,” the brewery said.
The hops garden – adjacent to the brewery – grew the key ingredient for a popular seasonal brew called “Harvest from the Hood,” the company said and NBC Philadelphia reported.
The brewery said it will be unable to make the seasonal beer this year.
A Philadelphia city government spokesperson told McClatchy News that, “regrettably, due to miscommunication and staff error, the hops were removed as they were initially marked as a violation,” due to appearing overgrown. The spokesperson said the city was reaching out to the brewery “to explain the situation, apologize and explore what we can do to rectify this situation.”
“We’re also engaging with staff on the ground to ensure that proper procedures are followed in the future,” the city spokesperson said.
This story was originally published September 15, 2022 at 12:23 PM with the headline "Brewery’s hops garden mistaken for weeds, destroyed by city workers, PA company says."
