The proliferation of microbreweries across the state has created a demand for Michigan-grown hops, the key ingredient in ales, lagers and specialty beers. And although you can practically watch these plants grow in the fields at this time of year, farmers still can't grow enough hops to meet the demand from micro or craft brewers around the state..
The
Michigan Hops Alliance is scrambling to meet the demand by working together to keep up with orders from Michigan breweries. In the Upper Peninsula, one grower in particular is trying to meet the demand from U.P. breweries for hops.
Jim Korpi, of
J. Korpi Farms in Rock, north of Escanaba, is the largest of the growers in the Upper Peninsula with a modest two acres in hops. He says his goal is to increase his crop by two acres each year. With two acres in hops he isn't turning a profit; however, Korpi says he's encouraged by the demand for hops and enjoys what he's doing.
"It's a good business, I really enjoy it," says Korpi. "A lot of people I know who got into hops quit when they saw how much work there is to it."
Growing hops may seem like easy beer money, but it actually involves a pretty good outlay of capital for equipment for harvesting and processing hops on a commercial basis. And there's also an investment of sweat equity.
"It takes a lot of capital, and a lot of work," says Brian Tennis, a hops grower from the Leelanau Peninsula and a founding member of the Michigan Hops Alliance. "You've got to have a passion to grow the hops. You can make money but you won't get rich doing it," he says.
Korpi agrees, adding that a lot of people started growing hops thinking they were following the gold rush and then, like the prospectors of that era, gave it up when they saw how much work it was.
"It's kind of a lot of work," says Korpi in his easy-going manner. "But anything worth doing is worth working for."
People considering growing hops need to look at the reality of the business. Potential growers need to factor in the cost of a machine to turn the hops into pellets, which is how the brewers prefer them in most cases. Then there's the harvesting and irrigation equipment. Korpi currently harvests his hops by hand, with the help of a friend and his 88-year-old mother.
As one might imagine, there are more growers in the lower peninsula, particularly in northwest Michigan. The Michigan Hop Alliance, which is a co-op based model, has more than $100,000 worth of equipment used to harvest and process hops, which they can share among each other or contract out to farmers, including a hop picking machine, dryer, and hammermill.
Meanwhile, back in tiny Rock, Korpi, who is disabled and working under a program with the Social Security Administration, happily works the land on his farm, following his passion and pursuing his dream of having eight acres into the giant plants, which grow to 18 feet tall and survive the U.P.'s frigid winters. Korpi hopes to be able to eventually hire people to help out and give his buddy a break, if he doesn't quit by then, and his mother, if she'll go for it.
Korpi is proud to say he is currently supplying hops to beer makers across the U.P., including
Black Rocks Brewery and
Ore Dock Brewery in Marquette,
Soo Brewery in Sault Ste. Marie,
Brickside Brewery in Copper Harbor, and
Cognition Brewery over in Ishpeming. He also supplies hops to party stores for home brewing and sells the rhizomes (roots) of the plants to anyone interesting in growing these monster plants. The Hop Alliance's roster of breweries they serve is considerably larger, comprising at least nine breweries fanning out from northwest lower Michigan on down to the Grand Rapids area and beyond.
"If I could get three steady customers to supply hops for, that would be great," says Korpi.
Korpi and Tennis haven't received any financial support for their endeavors, save for low interest loans via the Small Business Administration. However, Korpi says he's received a lot of assistance with the business end of things, such as preparing a business plan, which he did with the aid of a Small Business Administration counselor. He says the business plan helped him secure financing for his passion in life. He also expressed gratitude for MSU, which he says provided a lot of growing knowledge, and other growers who he says are always willing to share their knowledge.
The beer makers around the state (62, at last count) appear to be adamant about purchasing Michigan hops, where possible. The Michigan Hops Alliance sells hops to at least 18 breweries in lower Michigan.
"We prefer to get hops from them (local growers)," says Ernest Richards, a beer brewer at
HopCat, a tavern located behind Van Andel in Grand Rapids. "However, they're not growing all the varieties we need."
Indeed, there are several different varieties of hops, which according to brewers, help make their beers more distinguishable from each other. People appear to like the surprise and intrigue of a new variety of an ale or specialty beer, as opposed to the predictable taste of a "Bud."
Hops once grew plentifully in Michigan, though there is no one alive to remember it. During the Civil War era, hops held a prominent place along with cherries on the rolling farms in the Traverse area. This all changed, according to MSU historical documents, when the hop louse started to infest the crop. Cherries were spared the malady, but hop production moved out west on dryer ground.
It's hard to say what the future of hop farming is in Michigan with the hard work and investment that is involved. But the discriminating tastes of beer drinkers should keep the demand high for this rather peculiar, but essential commodity of the beer world.
Neil Moran is a copywriter living in Sault Ste. Marie.