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Brewers give out hops for Earth Day

(04/23/14 2:20am)

____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In honor of Earth Day, Bloomington Brewing Company passed out free hop roots Tuesday evening at its location at Lennie’s. The roots, called rhizomes, will grow into hop plants, which are a main ingredient in the brewing of beer.Hops are needed to improve the quality of the beer’s flavor. The plants will grow for 20 years and can grow to be 20 feet high, said Nick Banks, a brewer with Bloomington Brewing Company.“One of the biggest beers in America is the IPA and that’s solely due to the hops that are going into the beer,” Banks said.The hops were kept in a white bin and were available for free upon request at the brewery. Adam Hamel, an aspiring brewer, was offered Ziploc bags full of hop rhizome roots. Hamel said he had never brewed before but had wanted to for a long time.“This is a good way to get me started,” he said.Banks explained to Hamel how to plant the roots two inches under the ground with the shoots facing upwards.They wouldn’t produce many hops in the first year, but the buds would come back every year for the next 20 years, Banks said.Banks said hops play an important role in any brewery because they are one of the four main ingredients along with water, malt and yeast.In the brewing process, hops are used to add bitterness to the taste, Banks said.The malt is where the majority of the flavor profile comes from, Banks said, but beer can be too sweet without the hops.Banks said brewers started using hops only about 250 years ago. Prior to their use, brewers would use other herbs or even tree bark to give the beer a more bitter taste.In recent years, brewers started using hops not only for its bitter quality, but also for the aroma.“I’d say in the last 50 years, the hops have become more about the aroma than just the bitterness,” Banks said.Banks said if hops are added in the beginning of the brewing process, the resulting batch of beer will be more bitter because the aroma of the hops is burned away during the boiling process.If the hops are added towards the end of the boil, the brewer picks up more of the aromatics, Banks said.The hops behave similarly to marijuana, Banks said.“Everyone needs to understand that hops are a family of cannabis,” Banks said.The female cannabis plant produces THC, while the female hops plant produces lupulin oil, a powdery, yellow substance.Banks said he has been brewing for seven years and has been with the Bloomington Brewing Company for two years.“It’s kind of like being an artist, but not just looking at what you produce, you’re able to actually consume it,” Banks said. “I kinda caught the bug. I luckily have the understanding for it and the passion, and it’s paid off.”

https://www.idsnews.com/article/2014/04/brewers-give-out-hops-for-earth-day

Aquarium dumps harm Griffy habitat

(04/15/14 3:54am)

____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Aquariums dumped into Griffy Lake introduced an invasive plant species to the lake in recent years. The plant’s gone now, but wildlife managers at Griffy want to prevent aquarium dumps from reintroducing the pest. Brazilian elodea is a common aquarium plant that invaded the lake in the past. Steve Cotter, the natural resources manager for the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation department, said he cannot be completely sure, but there was significant evidence that the Brazilian elodea was introduced after aquariums were dumped into Griffy Lake.Colorful aquarium rocks were found on Griffy’s shores, and the Brazilian elodea is a popular plant for home aquariums.Invasive plant species such as the Brazilian elodea can affect the lake environment and make boating and fishing more difficult for visitors to the lake. The plant tends to clog boat motors.“It can have a devastating effect on ecology and recreational potential of the lake,” Cotter said.In 2004 and 2005, aquatic vegetation surveys were performed by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. The Brazilian elodea ranked third in abundance.The City of Bloomington Animal Shelter will accept aquariums and their aquatic plants and animals.A press release from the City of Bloomington Environmental Commission, said it can be harmful to the environment to empty aquariums into natural or man-made waterways, including lakes, streams, rivers, wetlands, storm drains and toilets.“It is our responsibility as stewards of our local environment to take necessary care to assure unwanted plant and animal species do not become established in Bloomington,” the release said.Cotter described Brazilian elodea as being about the diameter of a cat’s tail with many leaves on the stem. Because it grows in groups, the aquatic plant becomes very dense, which makes fishing and boating difficult.“It looks like you can walk on it,” Cotter said.Instances of people dumping their aquariums into Griffy Lake are difficult to track. Cotter said he thought these aquarium dumps might happen at night and could happen anywhere on the lake’s shoreline.“It’s a very hard thing to monitor,” Cotter said.Many non-native species seem to be coming from the South, Cotter said. There are theories that the plants’ success is because of the warming climate. The growth rate of invasive species seems to be increasing compared to noninvasive species.Brazilian elodea generally grows better in warmer areas, Cotter said.“Some believe that the speed of invasions is increasing because of increasing temperatures,” Cotter said.IDNR reported finding Brazilian elodea at about a third of testing sites in Griffy in 2005. Griffy Lake was the first public access lake in Indiana where the invasive species was found.The Lake and River Enhancement Program, which is affiliated with the IDNR, funded a fluridone treatment in 2006 and 2007 to eradicate the Brazilian elodea. The lake was surveyed again in August 2007 and no Brazilian elodea was detected.The treatment implemented to get rid of the Brazilian elodea led to the growth of some fish species. Originally, IDNR felt there was the potential for the native plant community to suffer as a result of the Brazilian elodea invasion, but the native vegetation has returned and re-colonized the area once inhabited by the Brazilian elodea.“Despite exhaustive searches, no Brazilian elodea has been detected in Griffy Lake since spring 2007,” a report from the IDNR says.As of the report’s publishing in 2009, efforts to control invasive species are targeted at the Eurasian watermilfoil and curlylead pondweed.The Brazilian elodea could be re-introduced if any more aquariums are dumped. The City of Bloomington Environmental Commission is working to take preemptive action to prevent invasive species from encroaching on native plants in the Griffy environment.“It does change the biological community if it is allowed to persist in the lake,” Cotter said.

https://www.idsnews.com/article/2014/04/aquarium-dumps-harm-griffy-habitat

Student GOP, Dems debate

(04/10/14 3:52am)

____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>All 55 audience chairs were full and some attendees were standing around the fringes of the Federal Room in the Indiana Memorial Union Wednesday to hear the College Democrat and Republican Debate.Four representatives, each from the Indiana College Democrats and the College Republicans at IU, participated in the debate. Each of the representatives spoke about one of four issues during the course of the more than two- hour discussion.Immigration, education, the minimum wage and the Affordable Care Act were the four topics chosen for the discourse. Questions were taken from the audience throughout the course of the debate.“I think that people were moderately respectful of one another,” said Margie Hershey, a professor of political science at IU and the moderator of the debate. College Democrats representative Hillary Anderson said she felt her side won the debate.“We saw our side being incredibly aggressive and honest in what we were saying about our positions and our policy,” Anderson said. Republican representative Matt Shute said he felt the debate went well, but that the Republican arguments were more credible.“I think our side was more based on fact,” Shute said. “Overall it was a good and amicable debate, and I was really impressed with the attendance.”Representatives from the College Democrats and the College Republicans agreed on the issue of immigration. Of the four topics discussed, immigration was the only issue upon which the two groups agreed.“On the issue of immigration, they came to our side,” Anderson said. “Problem solved. That’s the Democratic position and I’m glad to see that the Republicans want to come and join us on that.” Shaw and Republican representative Riley Parr each made closing statements after completing a debate on the minimum wage.Shaw reviewed each of the four topics discussed and suggested the Republicans offer a solution to Obamacare.“Instead of voting to repeal the health care system we have now, instead of voting to strip the seven million-plus that just signed up for health care, propose something that’s different,” Shaw said in his closing statements. “In response, Parr argued that citizens ought to be given a choice in their health care.“It’s about allowing you to pick the health care plan that you want based on your reasons, not some government bureaucrat,” Parr said.Parr finished the debate by saying the principle of the Republican Party was to promote individual choice and give opportunities to all Americans.Shute said this event was a buildup to a larger debate before midterms next semester.Hershey offered closing comments to finish off the event.“Let me say in conclusion that we have a lot more in common than we have that separates us.”An earlier version of this story identified Riley Parr as a Democratic representative.

https://www.idsnews.com/article/2014/04/student-gop-dems-debate
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