Our Process

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 Soil testing starts in early March.  Last year’s crop residue is removed, and cross tillage is used to keep rhizomes from spreading too far from home.  Also, a good time to harvest rhizomes to sell or plant new rhizomes of different varieties.  Early shoots begin to emerge in mid-March. 

Beginning in early May, twine made of paper or coconut husks, aka: Coir is fastened to trellis wires 20 feet above each hop plant.  The bottom of the twine is anchored into the soil using a “W” clip or tied to a ground wire.  As the hop bines begin to grow, at least 3 bines will be wrapped or trained to each twine. Each hop plant will have 2 twines for a total of 6 bines per hill/plant.  

Water, Fertilizer, and Sunshine, hops love all three.  Each hop bine will grow counterclockwise around the coir up to one foot each day!  By the time the Summer Solstice arrives, they will have reached a summit of 20 feet or more.  This rapid vertical growth switches to lateral growth as the plant sends out branches that will soon develop burrs.  These burrs are the “flowers” that, in July, will begin to form into hop cones.  In August, the cones mature, and inside their Bracts (petals) are covered with lupulin glands.  From these glands come the essential oils that give each beer style its distinct aroma and special flavor.   

Best time of year! When the hop cones reach a proper moisture content, samples are sent to a lab for testing.  The test results help determine if the cones are harvest-ready.  The harvest team is summoned to the yard to help cut down the bines and bring them to the Hopster 5P.  The Hopster is an awesome machine that strips and separates the cones from the 20-foot-long bines.  Once the cones are collected and weighed, they are quickly placed in a kiln or dryer.  (Fresh hops, wet or dry, can be used directly from the field to make a unique once-a-year harvest ale).  The cones are dried down using warm, dry air at 90-100°F for 36 hours.  Once they are <12% moisture, they are compressed into cardboard box bales for cold storage.   

Hops are removed from storage and ground with an air-assisted hammer mill. This produces a uniform particle size for pelleting.  Moisture is adjusted to help reduce friction, and pelleting begins. As the pellets exit the mill, they are discharged directly into a cooler/dryer.  As soon as the pellets reach the correct temperature and moisture, they are placed in a freezer. All hop pellets are packaged in vacuum-sealed mylar bags with a nitrogen blanket.  They remain frozen until shipment.    

All hop pellets are packaged in vacuum-sealed mylar bags with a nitrogen blanket.  They remain frozen until shipment.