BY KATE JACOBSON
Special to the Record-Eagle
TRAVERSE CITY — Move over cherries, there is a new cash crop in town.
For the past two years, hops crops have been popping up all over northern Michigan. Hops, which are used as a bittering agent in beer, have been cultivated and brewed since the 11th century.
Now local microbreweries are looking to local farmers to grow the plant.
"Back in 2007, there was a worldwide shortage in hops and the big mega breweries had long-term contracts where the majority of hops production was locked up with them," said Rob Sirrine, an agriculture and natural resources educator with MSU Extension. "When there was a shortage, (mega breweries) got their hops but everyone else had to scramble."
A mad dash for microbreweries to supply themselves with hops had farmers seeing prices rising from about $2 a pound to more than $25 a pound. MSU Extension held a seminar for farmers, teaching them how to grow hops.
Since then, more than 10 local farmers have diversified their crops with hops and are adding to a booming local microbrew industry.
Rob Manigold, one of the owners of Two Peninsula Hops, said a number of farmers in the area were looking for an alternative crop. With a microclimate and an optimal growing season, Manigold said they started playing around with how to grow hops.
"It was hard at first, because if you look out there about how other people grow hops, they keep the information pretty close to their chests," he said. "So it was really a learning experience for us, and we know a lot more now than we did starting out."
Harvesting hops is a little more labor intensive than cherries, but it allows Manigold, also a cherry farmer, to keep his staff longer in the summer and is proving to be profitable, he said.
For local breweries, hops grown in the area were more than just a great marketing opportunity. Russell Springsteen, one of the owners of Right Brain Brewery in Traverse City, said knowing where his ingredients come from and pumping money into the local economy are important parts of microbrewing.
"We live in a foodie town," Springsteen said. "People's taste buds are coming around and they're looking for a better quality product."
Hops can be used in beers fresh from the vine, but most are converted into dry, palletized pieces that are better for packaging and storage, Manigold said. The amount of hops used in brewing offsets the sugar and malt, altering how sweet or bitter a beer is. Certain types of hops give different types of flavor, offering a wide variety of flavors each beer can have, Springsteen said.
Both beer and hops come in a variety of styles. Manigold said area farmers are growing multiple types of hops, including organic hops.
Looking toward the future, both brewers and farmers are hoping hops might be a flourishing industry for the Grand Traverse region.
"We are growing a quality product, and microbreweries seem to be very good beer makers and are very popular," Manigold said. "We have more growers coming to us and asking us how to do it. When you add it all together, it looks like it's going to be a very big crop for the region."
Hops, with their leavening quality, also work for bread. Yeast from hops was a staple into the late 1800s, when yeast became readily available in stores.
Once you make dry yeast cakes from hops, you can then use them to make bread. These recipes are courtesy of Patty Watts on Appropedia, a recipe wiki.
This recipe makes two large pans of yeast cakes, which is enough for a large family that makes and eats a lot of bread. You may want to make half the amount, especially if it's your first time. Some people use regular dried yeast as an assurance, but it's not necessary.
Yeast Cakes from Hops
1 c. mashed potatoes
1 c. potato water
1 c. flour
1 c. dried hops
2 T. sugar
4 cups corn meal (approximately)
1 dried yeast cake (optional)
Boil three or four peeled potatoes in unsalted water. When done, drain the potatoes and mash them well, but save the potato water to use later. Cover the hop blossoms with water and bring to a boil. Drain off the water and save it too. At this point, you can dissolve a dried yeast cake in the hops water as a booster, if desired.
Put flour in a pan and slowly stir in the potato water you saved. Be careful not to use too much water. Mix slowly so that the flour won't be lumpy. If the mixture is too liquidy it might be necessary to cook it until it is a thick paste-like dough.
Add mashed potatoes and sugar. Mix well and then slowly add the hops water until you have a medium-soft dough. Let rise until doubled. Punch down and work in enough corn meal to make a stiff dough.
Roll out the dough on a board to about ½-inch thick and cut into cakes. Let the cakes dry, turning them often to make sure they dry evenly. When you think they are dry, hang them up in a muslin bag for a few days to make sure they won't mold. After this you can store them in fruit jars or however you wish.
— Recipe courtesy Patty Watts
Use wooden utensils and non-metallic bowls for this bread. Metal reacts with the yeast and bread, and can spoil the flavor.
Bread From Hop Yeast Cakes
1 quart warm water
2 yeast cakes
1 T. sugar
Flour (about 10-12 c.)
1 c. melted butter
1 T. salt
3 T. sugar
Crumble the yeast cakes into the water, add one tablespoon sugar and put in enough flour to make a soft sponge. Beat the mixture until it is very smooth. Let this rise overnight.
The next morning add butter, salt and remaining sugar and work in enough flour to make a smooth dough that doesn't stick to the hands. Knead well.
After kneading, leave dough in a warm place and let it rise double.
Grease the bottoms and sides of the baking pans. Pinch off dough for the loaves. Air pockets make bubbles in the bread when it is baking so try to knead the loaves well.
After forming the loaves, lay them in the greased pan and turn them over to oil the tops of the loaves. Let them rise double again, and bake at 350° for about an hour or until the top is golden brown.
— Recipe courtesy Patty Watts
If you don't want to make your own yeast, you still can use local hops in bread — use the beer.
Beer Bread
3 c. self-rising flour
½ c. sugar
12 ozs. beer
2 T. melted butter
Preheat the oven to 375°.
Butter a loaf pan and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and beer and mix well. The mixture should be sticky. Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 55 minutes. At the last 3 minutes of baking, remove from oven, brush the top of the loaf with butter and return to oven.
— The Food Network
