A lot of times when you tell people that your grow or are planning to grow Hops you will get a gambit of questions or at the very least raise a few eyebrows. Lets face it, its not something that you hear every day but with the growing brewing community success and Craft Beer exploding nationally it has become a small community of people reminiscent of the Home Brew Clubs that are rapidly expanding throughout every major city.
In short, it is about community. There is no place for contention or rivalry that may exist elsewhere. We all have seen this in other industries, but in the brewing community there is a special bond ness that anyone taking the time to see will see, especially locally. Brewers work together to grow the scene. Its hard to go up against national brands so the local and regional brands have to create new and innovative ways to gain the trust of the market. Growers must work together as best they can during this stage of development.
Hop growing remains in its infancy, but one day it is many of our hopes that it will expand in Virginia. It very well may never be as viable commercially or a staple commodity like say our corn, tomato, soybean, tobacco etc but its a goal that many of us have. It has not been met with some hurdles. With everything else we are faced with egos and agendas. Many of these however, can easily be associated with poor relationship building. Part of this results from multiple growers calling on the same few breweries that have expressed interest in using locally grown hops.
We have been dedicated to the big picture, but also respecting the process. Recently, we decided not to advertise or promote the breweries we have relationships with because what we found in 2012 was that other grower felt compelled to approach them as well. We believe in relationship building and though the best course to take in 2012 and 2013 was to get Virginia Hops in as many folks beers as possible from commercial brewer to home brewer. This has been a point of contention with some because we have not charged a single penny for the hops we have grown the last few years. Let me repeat we have not charged for the hops that we have provided breweries and home brewers.
Some growers may not respect this model of approach but as an industry growers have to crawl before than can SELL. Relationships are very personal and you have to give something of value and cannot simply want to sell your product, especially in the first few years of developing your yard. After almost three years of providing hops, we believe that we have convinced enough of the market that Virginia Hops are a viable alternative and Virginia brewers should create a space for them in their brewing regimens.
Hops is not easy. You find yourself calling on friends and family who have very particular skill sets. Maybe its a tractor, an auger or have trees for poles that can be used or they want to help with planting, stringing or Harvest Day. Family is huge in this endeavor because you will be spending a lot of time early in the Spring and late in the Summer---while most are hanging out drinking beer and cocktails at the Outer banks--- a lot of times out in the field alone. Some times though you get to incorporate family into it. Its harder if like us if you do not grow at your residence, but my girls still like to help out and grade the Hops with me. Grading is critical to your relationship with brewers. You should never provide an inferior hop cone. It should be part of your Mission Statement. If you provide brownish over developed or high water % hops to brewers it will not be long before they will look elsewhere and your brand will be tarnished in the market.
This year during one of the area home brew contest we supplied sample of dried hops for the participants that placed to try out with there beers and included a little bit of everything for them to try out free of charge. A lot of our area home brewers in recent years have gone on to brew for some of our newest and most innovative breweries.
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