This summer, the Tremont neighborhood will have a new gateway welcoming people to the neighborhood: Cleveland's first dedicated hop farm. Boasting 16-foot tall posts laden with vines, the parcel on W. 14th Street, just south of the I-490 bridge, will not only create a dramatic entranceway into the area, it will also be used to grow three to four different varieties of fresh hops.

"Shortly after opening, Cory Riordan [Director of Tremont West Development Corporation], came into the shop. He actually signed up for a beer-making class," says Paul Benner, owner of the Cleveland Brew Shop in Tremont and creator of the hop farm. "He mentioned they had a piece of land controlled by ODOT down the street. He asked, 'Is there anything you can do to help make it productive?'"

"It actually makes sense to grow hops there," says Benner, who got excited and soon struck a partnership with Tremont West. He will share the unused parcel of land with a group of Tremont gardeners who have raised crops there for years.

Benner's purpose is twofold: to sell wet fresh hops to homebrewers at harvest time, and to partner with local breweries to create a new, locally-sourced beer.

Fresh hops are not often available to homebrewers, who typically rely on dried hops that can be used year-round. Benner believes there is unmet demand. "If you can get hops immediately off the vine and use them in your beer, the flavor and aroma will be so much higher than if you buy something dried online," he says." A lot of times you can’t purchase fresh wet hops, or you can get them, but not to brew the same day. This is like picking a strawberry and eating it right off the vine."

Benner estimates that the plot will yield 20 to 25 pounds of hops, enough for about 50 five-gallon batches of beer (or 2,500 12-ounce beers). He has already gotten a strong response from the homebrewing community and volunteers. Because he is planting mature, three-year-old vines, he's anticipating a harvest this August.

The locally-sourced beer will come later. Benner will employ volunteers to help cultivate the site and will offer workshops on growing hops. Great Lakes Brewing Company, Market Garden Brewery and Nano Brew already use fresh hops from Ohio City Farm, but his plot will be the only farm dedicated to growing hops.

"This will be another great thing to see when you're coming into Tremont," he says.

Source: Paul Benner
Writer: Lee Chilcote