The Pacific Northwest (PNW) is the undisputed crown jewel of U.S. hop production, dominating the American hop industry for the better part of a century. In 2022, the U.S. accounted for 47 percent of hops grown globally, according to Hop Growers of America, with 99 percent of U.S. production coming from the PNW.
This wasn’t always the case. Approximately 150 years ago, the American hop scene looked drastically different, with production centralized in New York, Wisconsin, and Michigan. The growth-conducive climate, fertile soil, abundant water, and long periods of daylight allowed hops to flourish in the Great Lakes region—until a particularly savage blight of downy mildew, a moisture-thriving parasite, pushed hop production to the brink. As acreage dwindled, the passage of Prohibition in 1920 was the nail in the coffin for a once-booming region.
Over a century later, with the same bountiful environmental factors that helped it dominate the industry in the late 1800s, hop cultivation in the Great Lakes region has resurfaced behind Michigan’s resilient and passionate growers. Michigan has become the fourth-largest producer of hops in the U.S. behind Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, representing a unique test subject for the future of American hop production—and craft beer itself.
A Hop-Friendly Climate
Growing steadily for over a decade, Michigan’s hop industry survived acreage dips caused by COVID-19 and bounced back with strong harvests in 2022 and 2023. According to the Hop Growers of America’s annual report, Michigan harvested 380 acres in back-to-back years. While it’s still early in the growing season, optimism is high for 2024 and beyond. The main reason for that optimism? Michigan’s friendly hop-growing climate.
The state, located between the 42° N and 47° N parallels, avoids a shortened growing season found at northern latitudes, which would require artificial light to allow hops to reach maturity. Attempts at hop cultivation farther south would be limited by short days affecting the reproductive growth of hops. Peak season in Michigan has regular periods of sunlight well over 15 hours long. With the season lasting nearly five months, there is plenty of time and sunshine to allow hops to reach their full growing potential.
Dr. J. Robert Sirrine, a senior educator at the Michigan State Extension who specializes in hop production, identified these long, bright days as a major biological key for successful hop growth in the state.
“Hops are photoperiod sensitive, meaning that they will generally grow when the daylight is at least 13 hours and the temperature is conducive [to growth],” said Sirrine. “Hops are a ‘short day’ plant, so the switch from vegetative growth to reproductive growth is dependent on a minimum number of light hours and a minimum number of nodes [growth points on the hop plant]. Typically, there are 15 to 16 hours of daylength when the minimum number of nodes is reached—generally the end of June in northern Michigan.”
Even in the face of shifting global temperatures, climate change, and drought, Sirrine believes Michigan is well equipped, due to its “access to plenty of fresh water compared to some other growing regions that may depend on snowpack or rainfall,” he explained. Sirrine also highlighted Michigan’s naturally well-draining, nutrient-rich soil as another key factor for the future of hop cultivation. As downy mildew, still an ever-present threat, prefers to grow in the dark, damp soil at the base of hop bines, soil drainage that interrupts the growth of mildew is crucial.
Dr. Sirrine’s work, along with the resources of MSU’s Agricultural Extension, are valuable assets to growers, supporting their farms with data-driven insights and research. Brian Tennis, owner and founder of Michigan’s Oakland County-based Hop Alliance, highlighted the extension as a key contributor to growth in the industry. “We’ve been very fortunate because [the] Michigan State University Extension has been working with us since we began and they’re incredibly helpful in terms of identifying new pests and diseases and working with us to increase our yields,” said Tennis. “Not every state has a resource like that.”
Tennis and his wife, Amy, started in the hop industry as organic growers, founding New Mission Organics in 2005. In an effort to move the industry forward and assist other farms, Brian and Amy founded the Michigan Hop Alliance, where they process local hops and broker hops from other regions such as Yakima, Wash. and New Zealand. As some of the first hop growers on the peninsula, the Tennises have seen the industry grow from its inception point, survive the lows of COVID-19, and emerge on the precipice of sustained success.
Before the pandemic, Michigan was up to about 1,000 acres of hop production, but many small farmers did not survive the lean years. “[But] that probably says more about the overall industry and the amount of hops that are planted in the United States in general than where Michigan is,” said Tennis, referring to the significant reduction of acreage in the PNW in the past couple of years in response to decreased demand and overstocks.
Michigan Chinook: The Crown Jewel
Brewers, scientists, and growers all agree on one Michigan varietal as a standout: Chinook (the hop, not the widely stocked Pacific salmon sought after by anglers). Bred and released in the Pacific Northwest in 1985, Chinook was utilized as a bittering hop in IPAs, added to boiling wort for increased international bittering units [IBUs]. If you’ve had classics such as Stone IPA or Hill Farmstead’s Edward, you’ve tasted the familiar profile.
“Chinook in the Pacific Northwest tends to be more pine and gin flavors whereas Michigan-grown Chinook is a lot more citrus-driven with pineapple notes,” Tennis explained. This pineapple-forward character found in Michigan Chinook is highly desirable in today’s IPA-driven market and recent crops have drawn considerable attention outside of the state, expanding the market to brewing neighbors in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
“[Our] Chinook is pure pineapple. It’s like candied pineapple,” said Brandon Sabo, head of brewing operations for Ascension Brewing Company in Novi, west of Detroit. Outside of Chinook, the differences between Michigan hop profiles versus those found out West aren’t lost on local producers. “[There’s] something about the terroir of that area. I’ve had Cashmere from [elsewhere] that has been grown in very similar ways and it’s not even close. We particularly have a few beers that we use strictly just Michigan hops and, and on average, we’re probably using about 200 to 300 pounds of Michigan hops per month right now,” said Sabo.
Chinook and Cashmere, along with Centennial, Michigan Copper, Cascade, and El Dorado are the six most plotted hops in Michigan. These varietals are publicly available as part of the USDA Public Hop Breeding Program, a federally funded program that promotes the growth and availability of publicly accessible hops. One of the core focuses of the breeding program is the cultivation of new, experimental hop varietals, aiming to give small, local growers the ability to compete with proprietary hops such as Citra and Mosaic, which are only available to licensed growers.
“The USDA is working on some new public varieties that are pretty exciting and we hope those take off. [For example] Cashmere has done pretty well for us,” Tennis said. “The biggest threat we still have is just proprietary hops. They seem to be really overtaking the market. That’s our single biggest challenge in terms of really being able to explode and expand the industry here in the state.”
Drink Local Beer
An overall downturn in the beer market, increasingly thin profit margins, and renewed focus on flagship beers has put immense pressure on growers nationwide. Michigan is no different. Proprietary hops are both less expensive and more readily available than those grown locally; according to the Hop Growers of America, Citra and Mosaic were the two most planted hops in the Pacific Northwest for both 2021 and 2022. Check the draft list of almost any brewery in America and you’ll see Citra, Mosaic, and other proprietary hops such as Simcoe and Amarillo among the beer descriptions. They aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
But for a growing portion of Michigan consumers, buying local matters, which may be the final barrier to an explosion of the native hop industry in Michigan and across the United States. “We have a few people that are really interested when we use Michigan hops,” says Sabo. “When I talk about these particular hop varieties, like Cashmere, we get very excited and that tends to get customers excited about it, too. I’ve noticed people’s reactions to these hop varieties when they realize it’s not Citra but something grown in Michigan.”
This sentiment is echoed by Urbanrest‘s head brewer and co-founder Zach Typinksi. “I really think of locality as a huge factor for us and we have a large focus on local grain, local hops,” said Typinksi. “It’s about quality. The consumer is trained now to expect a very high-quality product, free of flaws and defects.” At Urbanrest’s Ferndale, Mich. taproom, Typinksi sees customers’ increased expectations about what’s in their pint glass.
It’s never been harder to stand out from an increasingly crowded field of breweries making above-average liquid. Yet a customer base with an increased awareness of what makes good beer works in the favor of proponents for local ingredients, particularly hops. Using local hops and grains stimulates the local economy in ways that imported hops from the PNW or New Zealand cannot—even if it costs slightly more.
A big part of getting consumer buy-in regarding locally sourced hops comes with how they’re marketed to customers. “I think it depends on how you tell the story of your liquid,” said Adam Fethke of Ferndale Project and Eastern Market Brewing. “Come September, we’re brewing wet hop beers [and] that’s an amazing time for Michigan hops. I think that we can tell that story a little better because it’s more obvious [that it’s locally sourced] than just drinking an average IPA.”
Fethke highlighted the process of selecting local hops and using them in a beer within 24 hours of being picked as one example where connecting Michigan hops to the finished liquid was effective in selling local beers to customers. However, he remains adamant that quality still comes first and the broad category of Michigan beer consumers aren’t as locally focused.
“One of our main IPAs [at Eastern Market] is 313 IPA, which uses all Michigan Copper. It’s cool and we tout that, but I don’t think that’s necessarily the driver of why people drink it—it’s a really solid, hazy,” says Fethke. But the fact that it’s brewed with local hops? “That’s more than just a plus.”
Ultimately, Michigan can potentially provide a blueprint for the future of hop cultivation outside of the Pacific Northwest, with its confluence of passionate growers, a growth-conducive climate, and brewers and customers who are increasingly excited about local ingredients.
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