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Madison County knew the hops-growing industry well, once upon a time. James Coolidge brought the trade with him in 1808 when he left Massachusetts and set up shop in Bouckville. There, he helped local farmers get started with their own hops businesses. The industry boomed. By 1880, 80 percent of the hops in the nation came from farms in Madison, Oneida and Oswego counties.
But the end of that century and the beginning of the next weren’t kind to the local hops growers. First, a powdery mildew disease took a heavy toll on the plants, killing many of them. This caused the industry to transition to the newly settled Pacific Northwest, where the climate and soil conditions better supported hop-growing. Finally, in January 1919, Prohibition’s passage helped close the curtains on the once-vibrant industry. A few hops farms survived, but the last shut its doors in 1950.
About 10 years ago, hops began to trickle back into New York state. As of two years ago, only a handful of farmers had more than an acre of hops plants. And then everyone started getting back on board. Now 25 growers cultivate more than one acre of hops each. New York boasts about 70 acres of hops fields all over the state. Madison County has reclaimed its place as a center of hops growth, holding 17 of the 70 acres in New York, and most hops cultivation in the state happens in Central New York, in a region stretching from the Finger Lakes to Madison County.
Hops are vital to the brewing process for several reasons. First is they stave off spoilage. Also, hops, which give beer its bitter taste, come in many varieties, so the use of different hops lends each brew a different flavor.
Madison County will celebrate its hop-growing past, present and future when the Madison County Historical Society hosts the 17th annual Madison County Hop Fest from Friday, Sept. 14, to Sunday, Sept. 16.
The weekend kicks off Friday night with a dinner at the Landmark Tavern, Route 20, Bouckville, paired with beers from Sackets Harbor Brewing Company. The owners of that North Country microbrewery will attend and speak about matching beers with meals. Tickets cost $50.
On Saturday, Sept. 15, the talking and drinking run from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Madison County Historical Society, 435 Main St., Oneida. Carrie Blackmore and Matt Whalen, who own Good Nature Brewing, Madison County’s first microbrewery, will speak, as will Steve Miller, the state’s first hop specialist, hired through a Department of Agriculture and Markets grant to advise New York’s hops growers on farming and harvesting procedures, among other topics. From noon to 2 p.m., there’s a lunchtime beer pairing, followed by craft beer sampling from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. Also, the historical society will raffle off beer-related merchandise throughout the day.
Admission is free, but participating in the pairing costs $20 in advance or $25 at the door; the sampling costs $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Tickets are available online at mchs1900.org or in person at the historical society; Good Nature Brewing, 37 Milford St., Hamilton; and Kraig’s Kegs, 485 W. Seneca St. (Route 5), Sherrill.
Finally, on Sunday, architect Carl Sterns from Crawford and Sterns, a Syracuse firm that specializes in preserving architecturally, historically and culturally significant resources, will lead a tour of historic 19th-century hop houses. Only people of legal drinking age can attend the events at which beer is sold. The historical society will have $5 tickets available at the craft beer testing for designated drivers ages 21 and older. All proceeds from the hops plants sold and from Hop Fest weekend events go to the society and support educational programming.
Hop Fest comes at a time of transition for the craft beer industry. In the Saturday talk, Miller and the Good Nature owners will speak about a law that Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into effect on July 18 that’s meant to aid the craft beer industry. It created a “farm brewery license,” which, if a brewery receives it, removes some restrictions on what the brewery can sell; for example, a farm brewery can now have a restaurant on the premises. It also provides tax credits for these microbreweries, which the federal government defines as a brewery that produces less than 15,000 barrels of beer annually. Good Nature, which opened in January, falls well under that line: Right now they’re on track to produce about 1,000 barrels in 2012, and they’re aiming for 1,500 in 2013.
Good Nature brewer Whalen is lukewarm about the law. He appreciates some parts, but wants others tweaked. For example, he’s delighted to see the restrictions gone and the paperwork process simplified. He said this new license will save his brewery a little bit of money in taxes, and can make them money with the new range of beers, wines and food they can now serve on-site. The license, though, comes with a caveat: To qualify for it, 20 percent of a brewery’s ingredients have to be grown in New York state. That’s an attempt to try to strengthen local agriculture. And this, Whalen said, is asking for trouble.
“Yes, it gives incentive to the farmers. And it does give incentive to brewers, too. But the problem is there isn’t enough product,” Whalen explained, talking about the local ingredients. “It’s creating competition between brewers and with the farmers in what’s normally a friendly industry.”
Simply put, there isn’t enough supply to keep up with demand. More
and more small breweries continue to open in New York; while
hops-growing expands also—like the aforementioned boom in the last two
years—it’s still falling a little short.
Achieving the necessary 20 percent is tough for breweries in the area.
“For a company our size, it’s possible. But for something like Middle
Ages {Brewing Company} in Syracuse, no way,” Whalen said.
Good Nature buys most of its New York state hops from Foothill Hops in Madison County. Because of the heavy demand, they pay about twice as much as the normal $6 to $7 per pound that West Coast hops command. There might be an even greater demand for New York-grown grain, Whalen said. Good Nature’s grain is grown around Ithaca and is malted in Hadley, Mass.
The law will continue to ramp up the incentive structure during the coming years. By the start of 2024, brewers will need to have New York-grown products make up 90 percent of their ingredients in order for them to receive the license. Whalen and the other brewers can only hope this law continues to lead to massive increases in hops production in the state.
Miller, the hops specialist, believes it can work thanks to the
potential New York state has in this area. “We’re just scratching the
surface at this point,” Miller said.
