Hopping into Gear: State Hopes to Jump-Start Hops Production

The brewing industry is growing in the valley, and now the state of North Dakota wants more people to grow a crop used to brew your favorite local beer.

Can hops can make the jump into the region.

Hops are one of the four main ingredients in beer, along with water, barley and yeast.

But as of now, local brewers can’t get local hops for their beers.
 
Ron Stroh owns Country Cannery in Moorhead, and brews his own beer.

He says only a few people are daring enough to grow their own hops.
 
“We have probably at least 25,” he adds.
 
The rest buy their hops from him.

Hops are a vital part of the brewing process.

He says beer is essentially barley sugar water without them.
 
Stroh explains, “We have to bitter that sweet liquid down, so we use hops for bittering, so you have bittering, flavoring and aroma.”
 
Home brewing is becoming more popular. Four breweries are operating in Fargo-Moorhead with more to come.

The beer is flowing, but the hops aren’t growing.

NDSU Extension Agency Horticulture Agent Todd Weinmann wants to change that.
 
He calls hops, “a great market potential for someone that is looking to get into this.”
 
Brewing is becoming more and more popular in the region, but none of the hops are available here at Country Cannery are grown in the area.

So that begs the question, can the Red River Valley support a large scale hops growing operation?
 
“There’s room for more,” says Weinmann, “and a lot of the breweries are looking for locally grown hops versus having to ship them in from other states.”
 
The NDSU Extension Agency and Department of Agriculture gathered brewers and hops growers in Casselton to talk about expansion.
 
Local Foods Marketing Specialist Jamie Good says, “Eight microbreweries in the state with many, many more looking to come online, so certainly the demand for local hops is growing.”
 
Experts say a variety of hops can grow in the region.
 
Stroh adds, “Well we have some of the richest soil in the world.”
 
Good says the biggest challenge is building an infrastructure.
 
“Harvesting, unless you have equipment, can be very labor-intensive,” he explains.
 
But with help from the state, experts hope local beer starts with local hops.
 
State experts admit they won’t be able to supply North Dakota hops for all local breweries, but they hope to make a dent in the hops market in the next five years.