Hops to it: Growers have sweet spot for bitter herb
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By Nathan Peck | FoodBiz
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Hops provide the bitter and citrus flavors in beers. Local craft beer producers are looking to use Michigan hops to augment hops grown in Washington, but say that quality is their number one concern. PHOTO: JOE BOOMGAARD |
MICHIGAN — Can hops be the next grape?
A small group of growers around the state are looking to the bitter flower as a potential cash crop and source of tourism income. Hops, an ingredient in the production of beer, is factoring into the state’s promotion of agriculture, in part through a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture.
Crack open a bottle of a microbrew such as Bell’s Hopslam, Arcadia’s Hopmouth, or Founders’ Centennial IPA, and the taste and smell of hops nearly hits you over the head. The citrusy, floral and bitter notes in these beers come from hops, the flower of the humulus lupus plant, a climbing herb. For Brian Tennis, co-owner of New Mission Organics with his wife Amy and a partner in The Hops Alliance, organic hops are — pardon the pun — a growing opportunity. The couple had grown sweet cherries in Leelanau County but were facing downward pressures on prices from processors in the region when they took a closer look at hops.
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Amy Tennis, co-owner of New Mission Organics, gathers last season’s hop harvest. Michigan hop growers are looking to grow the market for hops within the state through a focus on producing a high-quality product. PHOTO COURTESY OF BRIAN TENNIS |
“There is much greater need for hops than cherries in our neck of the woods. It is a lot easier to grow organic hops than to grow organic cherries,” Tennis told FoodBiz.
Tennis sees opportunities in a new requirement from the National Organic Standards Board that beers labeled as organic must use organic hops. Up until this year, in-country brewers could use conventional hops in certified organic beer because there was not an adequate domestic supply of the ingredient. The board, housed within the USDA, requires all beer sold as organic to use organic hops by 2013.
“If the law didn’t pass, we’d be dead in the water,” said Tennis. “We wouldn’t have a market if people could use a cheaper hop. It will be good for us.”
With less than 50 acres under hops cultivation, Michigan faces a large, entrenched competitor — the mountain Northwest. The majority of hops grown in the U.S. come from the Yakima Valley in Washington, which accounts for more than three-quarters of domestic production.
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For small operations, harvesting can be done by hand. Tennis and The Hops Alliance is investing in machinery to more efficiently harvest this year’s hops crop and increase capacity. PHOTO COURTESY OF BRIAN TENNIS |
The barriers to entry for growers are steep: It costs around $10,000 per acre to plant hops, due to the cost associated in rigging the overhead trellis system (that can be 10 to nearly 20 feet tall) to support the plants, and the plants won’t be mature for three years. The state’s growers could never compete on a scale with Western states, but can carve out a niche for local brewers, said Robert Sirrine, extension educator at the Leelanau County office of the Michigan State University Extension.
“We have some innovative growers up here in Northern Michigan that have experience with the infrastructure that needs to be put in — the trellis system likes high density apples and grapes,” Sirrine said. “There is a nice microbrewery movement and local food movement up here.
“I don’t see our competing with Washington. There is no way we can compete with Yakima Valley and out West. Most of their stuff goes to the big mega-breweries. I see our supplying the local brewers in the state.”
Sirrine is heartened by the fact that Tennis and four other organic growers are partnering to pool resources and risk in the Michigan Hops Alliance to purchase picking and pelletizing equipment. The largest hop processing operation in the state, Two Peninsula Hops, started in 2007 with the same model and currently pelletizes its hops that can be stored more easily by brewers.
The Michigan Restaurant Association and Michigan Brewers Guild are partnering in the administration of the $74,000 USDA grant to promote hops production in the state. The yearlong grant is funding a study of the growers in the state and how the industry can be promoted.
“We see two key strengths — our geographic location — and the other key everyone mentioned is the brewing community in the state. It is vibrant and growing,” said MRA spokeswoman Donna Gardner. “There is definitely the sense from the brewers’ side of the equation that they are interested in supporting those that grow hops. We hope to capitalize on strengths and do what we can in our plans to help the industry thrive.”
The lack of infrastructure to process the hops currently limits their use, said Brett VanderKamp, owner of New Holland Brewing Company in Holland. Within hours of harvesting the hops grown by Sandy Ridge Farms in Zeeland and The Hops Alliance, they were in the brewhouse going into New Holland’s Hopivore beer. That sort of timeline works for unique seasonal beers, but would not be cost-effective for typical production runs, said VanderKamp.
“These are immature plants right now. We have to use them the same day they are harvested — they go right into the brew kettle,” he said. “We’re thrilled to do this, but we pay accordingly to do it. We hope to give (growers) reason to keep improving. With older hops you can get better extraction and can pelletize — it becomes something we can shelve and use on our regular production cycle.”
Sirrine sees opportunities as growers gain expertise in cultivating the crop. MSU, Tennis and another grower in Leelanau are planting variety trials to establish best practices, what grows well, and the best means for pest and disease control.
“The biggest thing of all (for growers) is quality. If these brewers can buy Cascade hops for $3 per pound, why buy them here for two or three times that? They have to produce a high-quality product — that is where there is a competitive advantage,” Sirrine said. “Small batch hop producers can take the time to dry the hops at a lower temperature — it increases quality. We should be able to produce a higher quality product once we get the experience we need. I am hopeful about the industry.”
VanderKamp sees opportunities to expand his brewery’s use of Michigan hops, but in a limited capacity.
“We’ll augment the other hops with what Michigan produces. I’m not wearing rose-colored glasses here. Depending on what they end up producing, it may not be for every beer or every application,” VanderKamp said.
Tennis believes the state’s growers, both organic and traditional, are up to the challenge.
“We need to prove ourselves. We need to prove we can grow high quality hops. The industry is not going anywhere unless we can prove ourselves,” Tennis said. “Once we get the quality down, I think it will be a piece of cake.”
