Plant speaks with Mainebiz about craft brewers, hop growers
Andrew Plant, a professor with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension in Aroostook County, spoke with Mainebiz for an article about hop growers and craft brewers, and whether they can create a truly Maine beer, with Maine-grown and processed ingredients. The state’s 15 to 20 hop growers harvest about 20 to 30 acres combined, Plant said. “We’d probably need 250 acres worth of hops to service the 70 craft breweries,” he added. “So we’re now at about 10 percent of that.” The brewers now import hops from the western United States and elsewhere, partially out of need and partially to get different flavors for their beers, according to the article. One of the challenges Maine and other hop growers face is the cost of entry, which is about $10,000 to $20,000 per acre to get started, Plant said. In addition, most malt, which is made primarily from barley but can use other grains like wheat, is imported, the article states. Plant estimates that Maine’s brewers import 30 million pounds of malt made from barley each year for the approximately 300,000 barrels of craft beer they produce annually. “If Maine farmers were to fully supply all of the barley for malt being used in the state, they would need to produce 7,500 to 10,000 acres of malt-grade barley,” Plant said, which is double to triple the estimated 2,000 to 5,000 acres grown now.