Canada, SK: Saskatchewan farmer successfully growing hops for local brewers

A farmer from Moosomin is successfully growing hops on his farm for sale to local brewers in Saskatchewan, 620 CKRM.com reported on January 25.

Guy Shepherd is expanding to ten acres this year from 1.5 acres of hops over the past three years.

He says there is a market for the product.

“They’re used for aroma, flavouring and bittering in the beer process,” explained Shepherd. “The easiest way to describe them is if you think of a green pine cone with petals on it. They are used for the oils and alpha acids that come out of them.”

Shepherd says the hops are then baled and put into pellets for sale to craft brewers in the province.

2017 was his first year of production and he hopes there will be many more years to come.

“The hop price itself is steady. We have to develop the markets and convince people that we can not only produce the product, but we can produce a quality product that suits their needs.”

While the production of hops is labour intensive, he adds it has become a family enterprise.

31 January, 2020