The presentation will focus on the story of how land that is now part of Hartman Creek State Park was once home to sprawling hop yards that supplied hops for brewers in Wisconsin and beyond. We’ll explore the culture of hops and how farmers from New York flocked to the area in and around Hartman Creek to establish one of the most productive hop growing regions in the United States.
This program will take place on Saturday, September 30 at 3:00 pm at the Amphitheater on Hartman Lake.
Meet our speaker: Lee Reiherzer’s fondness for all things beer developed after his father gave him a taste of Bohemian Club Lager. That sip triggered a lifelong interest in beer and brewing history. He began writing about beer in 2010 after launching the Oshkosh Beer website and has since written dozens of articles about his favorite subject for numerous print and online publications. In 2012, he coauthored the book The Breweries of Oshkosh, Their Rise and Fall. In 2019, he published another book, Winnebago County Beer, A Heady History. In his spare time, Reiherzer enjoys hop cultivation and is an award-winning homebrewer who loves brewing the old-time lagers that were once revered in Winnebago County.
Free and open to the public, but a State Park Pass is required to enter the Park. Sponsored by Friends of Hartman Creek State Park.
Visit our website (https://friendsofhartmancreek.org/) and follow us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/hartmancreekfriends) to get the latest updates on the naturalist programs in the Park. Many more will be added to the schedule.