Hops take off in Ontario thanks to booming craft beer market

Drink craft beer? Some of Ontario's farmers have you to thank for a new crop they've added to their arsenal.

Hops are taking off. Eighty hop yards of the beer flavouring flower are growing in the province this year. A huge jump from four years ago when there will only five hop yards in Ontario.

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A boom in the craft beer market is responsible for growing interest in the crop. There are currently more than 60 craft breweries across the province — including at least eight in Toronto alone, according to the industry group Ontario Craft Brewers. 

But don't expect to get local hops in your local brew by this harvest season. The president of the Ontario Hop Growers' Association says mass production is a long way off.

Patience is a hops virtue

"We figure it's going to take five to 10 years before we can even begin to meet the demand of a major craft brewer," said Hugh Brown. "The brewers import almost 99 per cent of the hops they use from the U.S. and Europe."

That's because hops — like wine — take patience. It's a slow-growing, temperamental crop that takes about three years to mature. 

Two brothers in Elgin County, about 50 kilometres south of London, Ont., are nearing the end of that process. Hop cropping is now a full-time job for Scott and Todd Hayhoe. The pair planted three acres of hops in eight varieties three years ago and are looking forward to their first harvest, and paycheque, this fall.

"So far we've been focusing on how to grow it, and now we need to focus on how to sell it," said Todd, who came up with the idea for Hayhoe Hops over a pint with his brother. 

"We like craft beer and we were like, it would be fun to grow something for these guys," recalled Scott.

Ontario hops on the rise

A London Ont., brewery says they're ready to start buying homegrown hops on a larger scale after watching fairly new operations grow and work out the kinks in their processes. 

"They've gotten to the point where they're fully mature organizations," said Steven Nazarian, one of three brewers at Forked River Brewing Company. "We're pretty happy with the quality we've seen, so I've ordered quite a bit."

In the next few weeks the brewmaster plans to use the order to brew Forked River's first big batch of beer using Ontario hops.

Premium prices for local crops

The price of those hops is at a premium, says Brown, with some selling at more than $20 a pound, compared to around $14 from normal sources in the U.S. and Europe.

"We've been getting a much better rate," said the Ontario Hop Growers' president. "The issue is we don't know how long that will stay the case, as more growers come online and as the novelty wears off."

For growers Scott and Todd Hayhoe, that could mean quite a big return on their beer-inspired venture this fall.