W
hile the Pacific Northwest region,
according to Hop Growers of
America, holds contemporary big-dog-
on-the-porch honors when it comes to
commercial hop production, one New
York company is doing what it can to
make inroads in the hops department.
Fresh American Hops, based in
Canisteo, NY, is taking advantage of
legislation implemented in 2012 by
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo
to formulate a farm brewery license
promoting the use of local ingredients.
“That legislation demonstrates New
York is truly working for small business
as the law allows breweries and
wineries the opportunity to invest in
new enterprises and expand existing
operations,” Cuomo said in a statement.
Jumping on that bandwagon, Fresh
American Hops was founded three
years ago by two millennials, Zach
Harkenrider and Glenn Garrett, who
planted a single row with 30 plants
(under the initial banner of Northeast
Top Hops). They soon invited business-
man/investor Scott Burrell, a former bar
owner and the product of a family-run
bar and grill, to join them as a partner
and financial backer.
Garrett had received an inheritance
from his father’s estate and
Harkenrider’s father was a builder, so
they used the initial funding and the
skills available to construct a barn-
type greenhouse measuring 36x28 feet,
incorporating subterranean heating
and cooling that used the earth’s
temperature at 2,200 feet above sea
level for low-cost temperature control
to grow indoor year-round hops.
“We installed a geothermal system
and put in an I Grow operation — a
greenhouse brain that tells precisely
when to water and release the six
different nutrients we feed our plants or
when to open shutters and turn fans on
and off. Our irrigation and drainage are
automated. We didn’t skip any steps in
trying to make this as good as it could
possibly be,” says Burrell.
“
FRESHNESS IS
OUR FOCUS,
GOING DIRECTLY
FROM BINE TO
BATCH TO MAKE
A BETTER BEER.”
Maximum Yield
59