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Made in Washington: Hops: Yakima Valley Gold |
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Written On: September/October 2007 |
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Written By: by Danielle Rhéaume |
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Driving northwest on Interstate 82 through the Yakima Valley, visitors from the Midwest might wonder at the strange-looking plants hanging from wires—acres and acres of them—gently swaying in the constant breeze of eastern Washington. It might surprise them to know that the mysterious crop is an essential ingredient in their favorite brewski, quaffed every day when the five o’clock whistle blows.
Hops look like rich green buds, smaller than an evergreen cone and lobed with varied leaves like an artichoke. They are female flowers from the perennial Humulus, or hop bine—yes, it’s a bine, not a vine. While vines use tendrils, suckers, and other appendages to attach themselves to objects as they grow, bines have stout stems with stiff hairs that help them climb and wrap clockwise around anything within reach. These hearty bines have been wrapping themselves around trellises in the Yakima Valley since Charles Carpenter, son of a New York hops grower, planted his successful first rootstock there in 1868.
Besides the hard work required of any farming family or their employees, success at growing hops in the Yakima Valley is largely thanks to the ideal environment at the base of the Cascade Range. The valley benefits from mineral-rich volcanic soil, long, sunny days and abundant irrigation. In fact, according to Hop Growers of America, the Yakima Valley is one of the few areas in the world where new springtime plantings of hops have the ability to produce a full crop the first year.
Hop bines require a lot of water because they grow to be 18 feet tall and bear a lot of foliage. For that reason, local growers depend heavily on irrigation, with water coming from the Yakima River and five reservoirs in the Cascades. The fresh mountain water is a major selling point for Yakima Valley hops in the global marketplace, according to Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside. Newhouse is a lifelong hops farmer and Yakima Valley native.
Despite the perfect climate, Yakima Valley hops growers face many of the same challenges other eastern Washington farmers face. For example, they have to watch out for the two-spotted spider mite, which is a serious pest to many agricultural crops. The mites feed on hops by using their mouths to pierce the plant and suck up its cells. This depletes the hop plant of chloroplasts, thus compromising the essential botanical process of photosynthesis.
Hops growers also have to beware of the hop aphid. Like the two-spotted spider mite, hop aphids deplete the plant’s essential elements. They also excrete a carbohydrate-rich substance known as honeydew into the plant, leaving it vulnerable to powdery mildew, which can than reduce the quality of the plant and render an entire crop unmarketable. Powdery mildew can also occur without the aid of the hop aphid. To prevent it, growers must monitor the plants closely, especially during heat waves or times of high humidity. They also have to spray with pesticides and fungicides to prevent mites, aphids and mildew. Fortunately, according to Newhouse, most of the chemicals used are “simple substances that don’t have a negative impact on public health.” Still, he explained, as interest in organic farming increases, some growers are looking at using natural predators, such as ladybugs, to control mites and aphids.
Expensive and labor-intensive crop
"Hops are an interesting crop because they are not only labor intensive, but they require specialized and very expensive equipment," said Newhouse. "This isn’t equipment that you can go down to your local John Deere dealership and buy. So, there is quite a capital investment in that end of it, as well as in the fields themselves."
During harvest time in late August, hop growers use a bottom cutter, attached to the front of a tractor, to cut the bines off about three feet above the ground. As the bines, now disconnected from their rootstocks, dangle from overhead support wires, the harvesters use a top cutter to cut the bines away from the wires. The bines then fall into the beds of the trucks and trailers that will transport them to nearby picking machines. The pickers strip the leaves, stems, and hop cones from the bines and drop them onto a conveyor belt that takes them through a series of cleaning devices that separates the cones from the waste material. The stripped bines are processed into mulch, while the leaves and stems are discarded. The hop cones then ride a conveyor belt to a kiln where they are dried.
After drying, the hops cool before being baled and quality inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Core samples from each lot are sent to the USDA certification laboratory where each lot is issued a certificate documenting the percentage of leaf, stem and seed content. This certification is required before growers can sell their crop.
From Yakima Valley to the global marketplace
"It’s more than just going out in the field and doing the physical labor," said Newhouse. "There’s a lot on the business end of agriculture. In fact, there are very tight margins in a lot of crops and you have to watch your income versus your expenses." Newhouse holds a bachelor’s degree from Washington State University, where he majored in agricultural economics and minored in business administration.
The American hop grower has to think a lot about global competition, where the exchange rate determines their ability to compete for a small—yet lucrative—customer base. About 60 percent of all hops grown in the United States are exported. The only country that produces more hops is Germany, where there are many small but highly productive farms.
To reduce the risk to growers posed by fluctuating world prices, most hops grown in the United States are sold to brokerage firms on a fixed-price basis through multiyear contracts. Most hop consumers prefer to buy from agents. However, some—like beer industry giant Anheuser-Busch—prefer to buy directly from growers.
Hops are most often used during the second step of beer brewing. In the first step, grain selected for the beer is germinated, kilned, milled, and mashed into a mixture called wort. Next, hops and other flavorings are added to the mixture, which is then boiled to kill all bacteria and break down complex carbohydrates into smaller, simpler compounds. Hops have been used for centuries to add flavor and aroma to beer. The longer they are boiled, the more bitter they become. After the boiling process is complete, the liquid is cooled and beer brewers begin the last two steps—pitching and fermentation.
Besides being essential to beer production, hops are used medicinally as a sedative and digestive aid. In fact, it is believed that President Abraham Lincoln, like King George III, slept with a hop-filled pillow. Like its relative, hemp (Cannabis), the hop stem is flexible and tough with a tenacious fiber useful for cloth and paper production. It is also a main ingredient in the beverage Julmust, a non-alcoholic soft drink popular in Sweden during December. In some parts of England—namely Kent and Sussex, where hops are also grown—growers sell hop bines to travelers as good-luck talismans for their homes.
Travelers aren’t the only people hoping that hops will bring them good fortune; scientists and farmers are also trying their luck at using hop acids as a replacement for antibiotics in animal feed. Results from initial studies have given them reason to be optimistic. It may only be a matter of time before hops growers see a significant increase in demand for their unusual crop.
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