Visit to Michigan Organic Hops

Today, I had the great opportunity to visit Lyle at his hopyard and farm (Lyle Schmidt Farms, LLC) in Mendon, MI. "Certified" Organic since 2006, the farm sits in the heart of the rolling hills, forests, and lakes of southwest Michigan, a short drive to the St. Joseph river. Lyle grew up on the farm, and typically works there 5 days per week, but technically lives in Cincinnati, OH. In addition to several varieties of hops, Lyle grows organic fruits and vegetables, barley, oats, rye, and also an heirloom variety of free pollinating corn he intends to sell to a distillery near Lansing. The majority of the hops are sold to local craft breweries.

The hopyard consists of a 1.25 acre plot on a south facing hill above a vineyard. Hops grow vertically up coir lines on a 21' trellis supported by black locust poles (tree trunks, essentially) buried 3' in the ground. There is a pole every 53' and rows are 480' long. Being such a "small" hopyard, large motorized equipment is not cost-effective, but he does use an 18' tall siege machine-looking cart structure built on a trailer (sorry, I did not take a picture of it) where workers ride and spray the bines and other maintenance. At harvest time, the lines are cut at the top and bottom, loaded on a trailer, and transported up to the Michigan Hop Alliance in the Traverse City, MI area where they are stripped and the cones are pelletized and packed in nitrogen.

After showing me the hopyard, Lyle had a few minutes to share some of the homebrew I brought. We tried my Sour Pumpkin beer, and I also gave him a couple of saisons to try before I left (I thought a "farmhouse" ale would be appropriate). I really appreciated Lyle's hospitality and willingness to set aside some time from his busy day to show me around and chat for awhile. It was very interesting to get the perspective of a larger hop-growing operation than I am used to (although his is still rather small in comparison to other farms). I encourage anyone interested to seek out Lyle and his products, as well as the rest of what southwest Michigan has to offer. If I am able, I may go out again at harvest time to hand-pick some fresh hops. Even if you are not able to come to Michigan, I encourage you to explore your surroundings and discover the products available to you locally. These activities may not involve fermented foods or beverages, but they certainly require an adventurous and creative spirit. Be Fermentive!