The Museum of Sonoma County’s new show, “On Tap: Sonoma County Hops and the Beer Revolution,” juxtaposes the story of hop growing in the county with the history of Sonoma’s craft brew revolution.
The two industries peaked at opposite ends of the 20th century, with local hops nearly disappearing just a few decades before the surge of interest in artisan beer making, which started in 1976 with New Albion Brewery, widely acknowledged as the nation’s first craft brewery.
The exhibition follows widely divergent threads of the industry, from the stories of Chinese workers growing and harvesting hops in the early 1900s, to labor unrest in the 1930s, to today’s landmark craft brewers and small-scale hop growers, who have made Sonoma County into a hot bed of beer-making innovation.
“There are so many arcs to this story, and it all connects,” says museum curator Eric Stanley. “You realize how distinct and intense and important hop growing was to the county and how quickly it nearly disappeared, just as craft beer was becoming so important.”
The exhibit includes a huge, modern hop-picking machine on display (“the only one that would fit in the building,” jokes Stanley), vintage videos of the local hop harvest, and interactive sniffing stations that explore the aromatics of different hop varieties.
The museum will host talks and demonstrations over the summer, including a “Legends of Beer” panel discussion and a big tasting event outdoors in the museum’s sculpture garden on July 20.
Through Sept. 1. Museum of Sonoma County, 425 Seventh St., Santa Rosa. 707-579-1500, museumsc.org