WONDERED
WONDERED WHAT THOSE UNUSUAL LOOKING VINES ARE GROWING ON SOME
CANYON COUNTY FARMS?
THEY'RE PROBABLY HOPS,
WHICH SUPPLY A
GROWING INDUSTRY OF
MICROBREWERIES HERE IN
IDAHO.
TODAY ON YOU CAN
GROW IT, GARDEN
MASTER JIM DUTHIE
RETURNS TO A PREVIOUS
TOUR OF A HOPS
PROCESSING PLANT, AND
SHOWS US HOW THESE
UNUSUAL PLANTS ARE
GROWN AND HARVESTED,
AND WHY THEY THRIVE
HERE IN IDAHO.
"YOU'VE PROBABLY
DRIVEN PAST THEM AND
WONDERED WHAT THESE
STRANGE VINES ARE.
THESE ARE HOPS, AND
HOPS IS A BIG INDUSTRY
IN SOUTHWEST IDAHO."
HOPS FIELDS ARE A
UNIQUE AND INTERESTING
SIGHT IN IDAHO'S FARM
COUNTRY, WITH LONG,
STRAIGHT CORRIDORS
BETWEEN HIGH WALLS OF
LEAFY, AROMATIC VINES.
HOPS ARE THE FLOWERS
OF THE HOPS PLANT, AND
ARE USED PRIMARILY AS A
FLAVORING AND STABILITY
AGENT IN BEER.
THE HOPS PLANTS ARE
PERENNIAL, WHICH
MEANS THAT THEY GROW
BACK EACH SPRING. THE
FIELDS REMAIN PLANTED
FOR FIVE TO EIGHT YEARS,
DEPENDING ON THE NEED
FOR THAT PARTICULAR
HOPS VARIETY IN THE
MARKETPLACE.
AS THE SHOOTS EMERGE,
THEY'RE TRAINED TO
GROW
GROW UP
GROW UP STRINGS TO AN OVERHEAD TRELLIS. THE VINES, BETTER KNOWN AS
BINES, CAN GROW TO BE
WELL OVER TWENTY FEET
TALL.
THE PLANTS PRODUCE
ONE TO TWO-INCH LONG
FLOWERS THAT RESEMBLE
SMALL PINE CONES. EACH
OF THE SCALES, OR
PETALS, OF THE FLOWER,
PRODUCES A YELLOW
POWDER THAT CONTAINS
THE ACIDS AND OILS THAT
GIVE THE HOPS THEIR
CHARACTER AND FLAVOR.
SO WHY ARE THERE SO
MANY HOPS FARMS IN
SOUTHWEST IDAHO? IT
HAS A LOT TO DO WITH
BEING HALFWAY BETWEEN
THE EQUATOR AND THE
NORTH POLE.
"THE REASON HOPS
THRIVE
THRIVE HERE.. HOPS ARE A DAYLIGHT SENSITIVE CROP. THEY NEED TO BE
CLOSE TO THE FORTY-
FIFTH LATITUDE."
"THE LOWER YOU GET
THERE'S TOO MUCH DAY
LENGTH AND THE HOPS
WILL NOT FLOWER. SO
YOU NEED TO HAVE THE
RIGHT DAYLENGTH TO
FLOWER."
THE CLIMATE HERE ALSO
PLAYS AN IMPORTANT
ROLE IN GROWING HOPS.
"AND THEY'VE GOT TO
HAVE A CERTAIN AMOUNT
OF FREEZE NIGHTS IN THE
WINTERTIME TO BE ABLE
TO REACTIVATE IN THE
SPRING. SO THIS AREA
ALLOWS FOR THAT."
THE MAIN HOPS
GROWING AREA HERE IN
SOUTHWEST IDAHO IS IN
CANYON COUNTY,
PARTICULARLY AROUND
PARMA, NOTUS, WILDER
AND GREENLEAF. BUT
NEIGHBORING STATES
ACTUALLY HAVE A LARGER
HOPS INDUSTRY.
"MAIN COMPETITORS
WOULD BE WASHINGTON
AND OREGON. THERE'S
ROUGHLY SIX-THOUSAND
ACRES IN IDAHO, THERE'S
ROUGHLY FORTY-
THOUSAND ACRES IN
WASHINGTON."
"OUR HOPS ARE ALL OVER
THE WORLD. THEY GO TO
BROKERS, AND THEN
THEY'RE DISTRIBUTED
EVERYWHERE."
LATE SUMMER IS
HARVEST TIME FOR HOPS.
THE VINES ARE PULLED
DOWN AND
TRANSPORTED ON THESE
TRUCKS TO THE
SEPARATION SHED WHERE
THE HOPS FLOWERS ARE
REMOVED.
THE VINES ARE HUNG
UPSIDE-DOWN ON
CONVEYORS THAT TAKE
THEM TO THE STRIPPERS,
TO SEPARATE THE HOPS
FROM THE VINES AND
LEAVES. THEY'RE HUNG
UPSIDE-DOWN BECAUSE
THE HOPS FLOWERS ARE
MORE NUMEROUS AT THE
TOPS OF THE VINES. THE
FLOWERS GO THROUGH A
SERIES OF STEPS TO CLEAN
THE HOPS, REMOVING
ANY UNWANTED PLANT
MATERIAL AND OTHER
DEBRIS. THEN THE
DISCARDED LEAVES AND
VINES ARE CHOPPED UP
AND SET ASIDE TO BE
USED FOR CATTLE FEED.
NEXT, THE HOPS ARE
TRANSPORTED BY
CONVEYOR TO A DRYING
FACILITY. THEY COME IN
WITH A MOISTURE
CONTENT OF ABOUT 75-
PERCENT. THEY'RE
DUMPED INTO HUGE
DRYING VATS ABOUT
THREE TO FOUR FEET
DEEP, AND EACH DRYING
VAT HOLDS ABOUT TWO
ACRES' WORTH OF HOPS.
WARM AIR, AT ABOUT 135
DEGREES, IS FORCED UP
THROUGH THE FLOOR OF
THE VAT, WHERE THE
HOPS ARE DRIED TO
ABOUT NINE-AND-A-HALF
PERCENT MOISTURE
CONTENT, A PROCESS
THAT TAKES ABOUT EIGHT
TO TEN HOURS.
"WHAT DOES IT SMELL
LIKE? SMELLS LIKE AN IPA.
YEAH, SMELLS GREAT.
EXACTLY."
FROM HERE, THE DRIED
HOPS ARE TAKEN TO THE
PACKING SHED, WHERE A
SLOT IN THE FLOOR
PUSHES AIR UP THROUGH
THE PILE OF DRIED HOPS
TO COOL THEM BACK
DOWN. THEY'RE THEN
SCOOPED INTO A
MACHINE THAT
COMPRESSES THEM INTO
200-POUND BALES, WHICH
ARE WRAPPED AND READY
FOR SHIPPING.
AND WHO BUYS THESE
IDAHO-GROWN HOPS?
"A LOT OF
MICROBREWING, A LOT OF
BIG BREWERIES."
INCLUDING A GROWING
MICROBREWERY INDUSTRY
HERE IN IDAHO, AS WELL
AS THROUGHOUT THE
WORLD. FOR IDAHO'S
NEWS
NEWS CHANNEL SEVEN, I'M JIM DUTHIE. THERE ARE FOUR MAIN
VARIETIES OF HOPS
GROWN IN SOUTHERN
IDAHO GALENA,
NUGGET, CHINOOK AND
ZEUS.
EACH ONE HAS BEEN
DEVELOPED FOR THE
DISTINCTIVE FLAVORS
THEY GIVE TO BEER.
HOPS ARE ALSO USED IN
HERBAL MEDICINE AS A
TREATMENT FOR ANXIETY
AND INSOMNIA.
A PILLOW FILLED WITH
HOPS IS SUPPOSED TO BE
A REMEDY FOR
SLEEPLESSNESS.
AND HOPS CAN ALSO BE
EATEN.
THE YOUNG SHOOTS OF
THE VINES ARE EDIBLE
AND CAN BE COOKED