Hops

Nugget Hops

This is the final day of our annual hop harvest.  I thought I would share some photos with you to show what happens to all those vines that make such great decorations for fall.

Hops suspended from majestic heights, cascading down like a chartreuse waterfall.

Molly

Alex

Hops are a perennial crop grown in "yards" that are trellised from 13-15' high. There are several well known hop growing regions around the world, but in the U.S. hops are primarily grown in the Willamette Valley & Yakima Valley.  Hop production is limited to about 50 families - so it is a small community.

Wagons come in from the fields, where the hops are hung up as they wait their turn to be picked.



Drying Floors



Hops moving along a conveyor.

 Hop harvest runs 24/7 at most farms with a day and night crew. At our farm, the picker and the hop house (dryer) are right at our house - so there is a hum of activity day and night.  It is actually a little melancholy when we are done and everything is shut off - so silent and still by contrast.

 

When they are dry, the hops get baled up in 200# bales and shipped off to brokers and eventually brewers to make all those tasty beers that we love.

 

We hope you enjoy that harvest feeling everytime you see our hop garlands or visit with friends over a pint.