Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 13 M AY 1 6 , 2 0 1 6 maltsters, hop growers and others in the industry, those who are considering getting into some aspect of the craft beer industry and people who have tech- nology or tools that can be applied to craft brewing. "If you have 20 beers to choose from and you sup- port farm-to-table, the local aspect will be strong. is is true in Maine, especially in Portland," says Heather Muzzy, a quality control specialist at Allagash. Can local hops replace imports? Historically, Maine was a big grower of hops, says Ryan Houghton, founder and president of e Hop Yard in Gorham, one of the largest hop growers in the state. He's now growing 10 acres, with eight in Gorham and two in Fort Fairfi eld, and hopes to expand that to 200 acres in fi ve years. "I want Maine to have 500 acres of hops and I want to make sure it's grown right," says Houghton, who is growing eight hop varieties. He also consults with existing and would-be hop growers. e state's 15 to 20 growers harvest about 20 to 30 acres combined, says Andrew Plant, associ- ate extension professor at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension in Presque Isle. "We'd probably need 250 acres worth of hops to service the 70 craft breweries," he adds. "So we're now at about 10% of that." e brewers now import C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » A primer on hops and malt Malt Malting is a process. Malted grain is a grain, usually barley but sometimes wheat or another grain, that's been partially sprouted and dried to free up the starch and create enzymes for craft beer production. Maine grows between 2,000 and 5,000 acres of barley malt now. It would need to produce double to triple that amount to meet all local craft brewers' demand. About 30 million pounds of barley malt are imported to meet the demand for the approximately 300,000 barrels of craft beer produced in Maine. Hops The investment to start a hops farm is $10,000 to $20,000 per acre. Hop plants are cut every spring to the dirt, leav- ing only the roots, to produce better sprouts. Hop plants grow up an 18-foot wire. When they reach the top they stop growing up and start fi lling out on the sides. Hop-picking devices are generally imported from Germany, where they are called "Hopfenpfl ückmaschine." P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F T H E H O P YA R D The Hop Yard's imported Hopfenpfl ückmaschine being lowered into position

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