#BBC18: Learning to Grow Hops Commercially Again in New York – One Farm’s Story

Laura Ten Eyck, Dietrich Gehring | This presentation offers a brief overview of the history of hops and their use by humans as food, medicine and ultimately in brewing beer. A description of the botany of the hop plant is followed by a summary of the history of hop production in the United States, providing a look at commodity hop production in the Northwest and the recent renaissance of small-scale hop production in the East. After this background, the presentation dives into the presenters’ story of starting a hop farm on a four-generation family farm in upstate New York, describing with humor the challenging process of scaling up from a few hop plants in the garden for home brewing to a two-acre hop yard. They will share their varied experiences learning how to grow, harvest and process hops on an increasingly larger scale each year along with producing malting barley and other grains as well launching an estate brewery and cidery with tasting rooms and a biergarten open to the public. Presenters are hop growers Dietrich Gehring and Laura Ten Eyck, authors of The Hop Grower’s Handbook: The Essential Guide for Sustainable, Small-Scale Production for Home and Market.

Transcript

1. Learning to Grow Hops Commercially Again in NYS --One Farm's Story Laura Ten Eyck, Dietrich Gehring www.ilfcb.com
7. Humulus Lupulus: •  Cannabaceae family •  Perennial bine •  Grows from underground system of roots & rhizomes •  Used to provide flavor and aroma in beer
9. Hops have been around for a long time-- First written reference made by Roman author Pliny the Elder, in his Naturalis Historia, published in 77-78 AD in chapter about wild foods. He refers to the plant called “wolf of the willows.”
10. Medicinal Uses 1150 the Benedictine abbess, Hildegard of Bingen, a German nun, writer, visionary and mystic, also known as Saint Hildegard mentioned hops in a medical book often referred to as Physica •  Antibacterial •  Soporific •  Phytoestrogen •  Antioxidant
11. History of Hops in Beer •  Originally gruit (an herbal blend) was used to flavor beer •  By 9th century hops were being cultivated by monasteries to flavor beer •  Antibacterial properties made beer keep longer, allowing for more trade •  In 1574. Reynolde Scot, a country gentleman in England, published A Perfite Platform of a Hop Garden •  Highly hopped beer called India Pale Ale exported from England to colony in India •  Hops were growing wild in North America •  When Europeans came to North America they brought hops with them •  These hops hybridized to create unique varieties
12. Hop cultivation occurred throughout English colonies, originally concentrating in Massachusetts and then moving almost entirely to New York State. •  By 1880 New York State was top hop producer in the country •  21 million pounds of hops •  On 40,000 acres •  80% hops produced in U.S from NY.
13. “First the flea, then the fly, Then the mould, then they die” --old Kentish rhyme
14. Relocation of Hop Production to Northwestern U.S. Hop Production 2015 ID 4,863 acres, 4,362 tons OR 6,612 acres,5,332 tons WA 32,158 acres, 29,730 tons
15. Hop cone contains lupulin •  Alpha acids (bitterness) •  Beta acids (aroma) •  Essential oils (aroma)
18. The Hop Industrial Complex
24. Craft Beer Craze Goes Local
25. 2012 Gardeners /Home Brewers Go Commercial
26. Getting Into Heritage Hops
27. Helderberg Hop
29. 2013--one-eighth of an acre
30. July 2013: A Case of Trellis Collapse Disorder
31. Early Harvest
32. Sept. 2013: The remaining harvest
33. Screen Drying with Box Fans in the Barn
34. Spring 2014--One Acre
36. Scaling Up
37. Weeds Use cover crops to suppress weeds before planting
38. Insects Arrive
39. Disease Arrives Downy Mildew Alternaria Virus
40. Scouting
41. Spray using IPM Guidelines
42. Another crop of malting barley
43. Barley harvest
44. Sept. 2014 Harvesting One Acre in its First Year
48. Meanwhile….
51. Late Fall 2014 first sale to Other Half Brewing
52. Wolf delivery from Germany, Winter 2015
56. Harvest 2015—Picking is good
57. Fall 2015 But kiln & baler arrive don’t arrive until during harvest in pieces.
60. Troubles Continue
62. 2016 Expanding Hop Yard to Two Acres
64. Indian Ladder Farms Centennial Celebration
65. Grand Opening Indian Ladder Farmstead Cidery and Brewery
84. Military Kitchen and Chefs
90. What's New?
91. HEMP!