Entire Old Mission hop harvest ends up in local brewer's IPA

It’s quite literally farm to table this week at North Peak Brewing, or at least farm to bottle. Hops are being harvested at the Old Mission Hop Exchange Farm and taken the same day to the North Peak Brewing facility in Traverse City.

And, says brewer Ron Jeffries, there are going to be plenty of hops in the new brew, called Hoodoo Midwest Wet Hop IPA.

"Given its strong malt-backed spine, we gave this Hoodoo hops to run," says Jeffries, who works on North Peak beers with brewer Mike Hall. "It starts hoppy, ends hoppy and is nothing but hops in the middle. Well, okay, a little malt in the middle--just enough to keep this Hoodoo from getting fussy. But, it’s pretty much nothing but hops."

Wet hopping is a new technique for Jeffries and Hall, which uses raw, unprocessed hops, straight from the vine, within hours of harvesting. The increased moisture content makes the fresh hops much less bitter than the equivalent in dried hops, which allows the brewers to intensify the hop flavor without the accompanying bitterness.

The brewers are associated with Jolly Pumpkin and Mission Table in Traverse City, which all together form the Northern United Brewing Company, and also have hooked up with Leggitt Farms on the Old Mission Peninsula for a mutually beneficial relationship.

The hops are grown in hopyards on the peninsula, then made into beer. The beer making process produces spent grain, which is fed to Angus and Highland cattle at Leggitt Farms. The cattle produce manure, which is made into fertilizer, which goes back to the hopyards to help grow more hops. It really doesn’t get a lot more local and sustainable than that.

An event celebrating the farm-to-brewer-to-restaurant cycle, "Toast to the Farmers," is scheduled for Oct. 15, during Pumpkin Fest at Jolly Pumpkin/Mission Table.

Leggitt Farms beef can also be found on the menus there, so if you’re feeling locally inclined, you can match a local beef burger with a locally-hopped brew.

Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Ron Jeffries, North Peak Brewing Company