Michigan is the #4 state for acres of hops grown, with a whopping 300 acres strung this year. If this goes through it will more than double that.
Very cool. I wonder if any of their hops will make it to homebrewers or if they’re gonna be a brewery only operation ?
Talking with some hop growers in NC, they said the yield is lower there than MI, about 25% of Yakima. They become very competitive for the fresh hops, as they do not have the express shipping charges.
I know a guy who has 1/4 to 1/2 acre of hops. All of those go to Arcadia for a fresh hop beer.
If you are in Grand Rapids go to Siciliano’s, they sell some MI hops packaged for the homebrewer.
I asked about homebrewers because there’s a new hop farm opening in Central Indiana that looks to be growing a fair number of varieties, but advertises on their site “sorry, no homebrewers”. Bummer.
Top Hops in Goodrich, MI has had a wet hop event the past couple years that has been a lot of fun. I only participated last year but I really enjoyed it… I enjoyed the beer I produced as well. (English Barleywine)
While attending a hop conference here in Ohio two weeks ago, a fellow mentioned to me that one of the big players in Yakima was considering establishing some test acreage (200A?) in Northern MI. $2000/A in MI is quite a savings from what land is going for in the Yak Valley. Business is business I guess.
I’ve been meaning to post an observation of mine. This Winter I have noticed a BIG increase in new hop fields going in. There is one about 2 miles from my house that alone is probably 200 acres. And it is just one of at least a half-dozen new fields I’ve seen.
Apparently the thinking is that there is another hop shortage coming up - or at least good profit margins to be made in the next few years.
Wonder where in N. MI?
The guys I know on teh brewing side like some of the qualities of the Chinook and Cascade from MI. They say the aromatics are very nice.
Looking good, Michigan. I have really enjoyed the beers that have been made with Michigan hops. My wife and I bought a farm a month ago, and are looking to plant hops next year. Lots of research to do still.
Don’t quote me but I think I remember hearing near TC? I did get some of the ‘pineapple’ Chinook from Jeff & Bonnie but haven’t tried them yet.
I’ve seen some unbelievable numbers on the planned expansions and have to think it’s all tied to contracts. Lots of brewers, especially the new ones, are tired of ending up with the ‘scraps’ that may or may not be there after all the contracts are filled so they’re finally contracting. And you’re right when saying that hop prices are finally rising. Not a whole lot, but enough to justify the growers investment in some additional acreage. I’ve heard from a few sources that there could be a downside to the expansions in that there will come a point that additional drying capacity will be needed to get the crop dried in a timely manner, and I guess a new dryer can run in the millions? Get ready to pay a little bit more for your hops in the next few years to help finance the dryers.
The plan is to hold the Indiana state-wide Brew-B-Q at the Sugar Creek farm this summer, before the hops are harvested (August). Indiana brewers should ‘like’ the Brew B Q page on Facebook in order to keep up to date as to the plans for the event.
Thanks for the info , Martin !
I’d like to try some Michigan hops and even malt. The Belle’s Barley wine from the NHC last year made with Michigan hops and malt was very nice.
Cap 'n Cork in Macomb, MI also sells some Michigan hops. I forget what Hop Farm they are from though.
Martin, I’m having trouble finding their page on FB, can you double check it. I have found a couple with close to that name but they are in Iowa and Oregon, so I don’t think they are what you were talking about
I can’t remember the exacts, but there are 200-400 new acres of hops going in the ground in Michigan this year. Most of that is related to a couple very big farms with a lot of money behind them. I know one of heads of the MI Hop Growers has said he expects Michigan to be at 1,000 acres by the 2017 harvest.
Found the link to where one of the big farms is going, in Acme Township, just outside of Traverse City.
. . . and a continuation of that article with a little more info: http://m.record-eagle.com/news/the_biz/michigan-s-hops-acres-to-double/article_123edc0e-221d-51da-b68f-3afd42cbdc1a.html?mode=jqm
It’s been a lot of fun getting to know some of the new, smaller growers throughout Michigan, but if Michigan is ever going to become a major player in the hop growing world, this is a positive step. The localization of beer as a theme in many cases helps the little growers out, but overall, the brewers are only going to be so patient when taking a product that doesn’t have the same quality standards as what you can get from a corporate farm that has sophisticated harvesting and packaging technology. A survey I sent out to dozens of brewers last year supported what I suspected, they want to help the local growers out, but if they want to do serious business quality has to improve.
Stan H. has spoken at length about the costs of adding acreage in Yakima, and based on what I’m told by the growers up there, the Traverse City area might have the best hop growing climate in the country outside of the Pacific NW. I’m sure there’s plenty of debate on that topic, but if the price is right for acreage, seeing expansions like this in the future probably won’t be shocking.
Just read the article in the Record-Eagle about the new hop farm. It’s a group of investers from the Traverse City area and is called “MI Local Hops”. They will eventually plant 400 acres on an old abandoned golf course
in Wiliamsburg, MI. They are about 10 miles from where I live, might be my next career move. They have all the hop support post piled up near M-72 highway when I drove by last.