Growing Hops Again In Wisconsin

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Growing Hops (Again) In Wisconsin

• Jon B. Reynolds
• BrewPlan, Inc.
• Wisconsin Brewers Guild Co-op

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Introduction

• Hops are expensive and in high demand
• Little information is available on growing hops
  in Wisconsinhavent been grown commercially
  since the 1920s, when, Wisc. Was the 1
  Production State
• Why do Wisconsin Craft Brewers care about Hops
  now?
• Worldwide shortages in many hop varieties
• Escalating prices for high-alpha hop varieties
  (50/)
• Continued decline in of West Coast producers
• Marketing of indigenous ingredients in their
  beers
• Continued growth of organic beer segment
• Trend toward Buying Local from co-ops

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Challenges for Hops Growers In Wisconsin

• Moisture
• Erosion
• Soil Content
• Sunlight
• Pest Control
• Trellis Set-up
• Harvesting Equipment
• Harvesting Labor
• Pelletizing
• Marketing

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How It All Started

• Interest in growing hops in Wisconsin started
  with an organic hop test between Lakefront
  Brewery, The Michael Fields Institute and Cedar
  Farms in 2007.
• This test was expanded in 2008 to 4 growers in
  different parts of the state, who attended the
  MOSES Organic Conference in February, 2008. WI
  Brewers Guild contracted to buy every hop they
  could produce.

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Six Wisconsin Brewers Guild Members Created A
Cooperative Market for the Growers

• Lakefront Brewery, Milwaukee, WI
• Sand Creek Brewery, Black River Falls, WI
• Tyranena Brewery, Lake Mills, WI
• South Shore Brewery, Ashland, WI
• Central Waters Brewery, Amherst, WI
• The Bull Falls Brewery, Wausau, WI

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Cost of Introduction
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Early ResultsBy Grower

• Marathon CountyWokatsch Farmsdecent yield of
  5 in Year 1 using Ginseng trellisesno
  pelletizationwet hop beers will use the entire
  crop magnums and cascades grew best want to
  plant more in 2009
• Jefferson CountyRoot Organic Farmsmall yield
  in 2008 have some cones, but nothing really
  significant very interested in expanding in
  2009 with local Waterloo-area organic farms
• Walworth CountyMichael Fields InstituteYear 2
  of the Testdecent yield of 35 year 1 new
  rhizomes did not have significant yields
• Marquette CountyMcDowell Farmflood occurred in
  most hop fields11 rain in June caused little to
  no harvest
• Crawford CountyDriftless Organics did not plant
  rhizomesstored for use in 2009

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Total Phosphorus Content of Wisconsin SoilsBest
hop soils are Silt Loam and Sandy in Northern and
Central Wisc
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Moisture Content In Soils and Pruning Is
Important To Growing Hops In Wisc.

• Ample moisture early, followed by warm, dry
  weather is ideal.
• Planting hop rhizomes in early May in hills or
  rows with a spacing of 8 x 8 at a planting
  density of 800 hills/acre soils with pH of
  6.0-6.2 produce the best hop yields
• Plant 2-4 rhizomes/hill with buds pointed up and
  covered by ¾-1 of loose soil direct sunlight,
  plentiful water and dry air are keys
• At the 2 foot stage, two-six vigorously growing
  vines are selected for each hill and the rest are
  removed
• One-three vines are trained up each of two
  stringing wires, with the lowest of 4 ft of
  foilage and branches removed to aid in prevention
  of pests/disease (spider mites and downey
  mildew).
• Pruning the stems and lower leaves must be done
  to allow the crown and main stem to survive and
  grow.
• Adding of nitrates (potassium and nitrogen) and
  phosphorus is recommended to replace the loss of
  these nitrates when hops are harvested. Organic
  farms use a different procedure using manure.
• Harvest takes place in late August-Early
  Septemberwe are just now seeing the fruits of
  the growers labor

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Best growing hop varieties in Wisconsin are as
follows

• Fuggles, Willamette, Columbia, Cascade,
• Tetnanger, Hallertauer, and Hersbruckerthey
• adapt well to cool climate, are the most
• resistent to downey mildew and spider mites
• Galena, Eroica, Nuggets, Olympic, Chinook,
• Brewers Gold, Bullion, and Magnums are more
• difficult to grow in Wisconsin, because they are
• more susceptible to downey mildew, frost and
• hop aphids and two-spotted spider mites

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Harvesting of Hop Fields Are Key To
Successful Growers of Hops In Wisc

• In Year 1, Hop cones were picked by hand as our
  harvesting equipment is not yet in place
• Vines were cut loose from the hill and the
  trellis wires about 4 ft from the ground
• The cut vines were laced into combs and then
  the vines are separated from the cones
• Hop cones are sprayed with forced air to remove
  dirt and debris. They can then be sold as Wet
  Hops
• Moisture content in hops is reduced from 65-80
  
• down to 8-10 for storage in sulfur dioxide
  drying
• Hops are moved into cooling rooms for a week
  and then
• growers transport them to pelletizers, and then
  decide if they want to sell them at market prices
  set by Wisc Brewers Guild Co-op

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Building trellises are expensive for start-up
Hops growersWokatsch farm in Marathon County cut
this cost by using existing Ginseng
trellises Est. Start-Up Cost 5,000-10,000
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Harvesting hops is labor-intensive and very
costly for growers

• Therefore, the initial game plan was for the
  Wisc. Brewers Guild Co-op to obtain a Govt Grant
  from the DATCP and purchase a portable harvester
  that all growers could
• use to harvest their hop yields

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• Cascade hops are high in demand and yet seem to
  be the prize Wisconsin Craft Brewers are
  looking for.
• Indigenous hops like these offer Wisconsin
  Brewers unlimited marketing opportunities!

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Where Do We Go From Here?

• 2009 will be a watershed year for growing hops
• in Wisconsin, as yields will be measurable
• Growers continue to respond to ads in the
• Organic Broadcaster
• Wisconsin Craft Brewers continue to absorb
• higher hop costs, with high demand, and very
  tight
• suppliesthis could change as West Coast hop
• growers have increased their hop field acreage
• High Alpha and Organic hop prices continue to
• soar, as brewers use more of these varieties and
• create new certified organic beer styles
• Brewers and growers need to unite in a organized
  
• cooperative, similar to small organic farms
• community supported agriculture (CSAs)-Buy
  Local!

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SummaryHops In WI

• Based on preliminary data, growing Hops in
  Wisconsin can be accomplished with a little TLC.
• Yields by hop variety wont be fully known until
  years 2009 and 2010.
• Targeting high phosphorus soils, with high
  moisture content, and plenty of sunlight on top
  of ridges, is critical in the grower planning
  stage.
• Growers need better participation from more
  Wisconsin Craft Brewers to guarantee a stable
  market.
• Wisconsin Brewers Guild Co-op needs to secure a
  grant for expensive harvesting equipment.
• Due to a increase in grower interest, hop
  pelletization equipment must be secured to handle
  rising supply expected in 2009 and 2010.

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Thank You!!