Hop Swapping for Beer

The next time Whitefish locals Charlie and Paula Collins head into the Great Northern Brewing Company, they will have an extra $108 to spend.

That’s because they traded 27 pounds of their homegrown hops in exchange for beer credits at the 2019 Frog Hop Pale Ale Hop Swap on Sept. 10 at Great Northern Brewing Company in Whitefish.

Their 27 pounds contributed to more than 500 pounds of total hops collected at the annual event.

Hop growers receive $4 in beer credit for every pound of hops they trade in, which brewery Director of Operations Thomas Sierra says is the same as market value. Plus, they get to enjoy the special seasonal beer, the Frog Hop Wet-Hopped Pale Ale, which is brewed with the traded hops and will be on tap lines beginning Sept. 24.

After eleven years of successful hop swapping, Sierra says the event involves the community while drawing them in to drink the beer their hops helped create.

“It gets the community engaged,” Sierra said.

Collins says he grew hops to brew his own beer in the past, but now he grows it specifically for the annual Hop Swap, which he and his wife have participated in for the last four years.

“It’s a really nice fragrance,” Paula said. “It’s a nice-looking plant.”

Their vines produced 27 pounds of the green hop cone, which Charlie says took them about five hours in labor to harvest.

The 2019 “Top Frog” of the year traded 93 pounds of hops in exchange for $372 in Great Northern Brewing beer. While some locals compete for the top hops weight, others bring in whatever they can.

“I grow hops because I think they’re a fun little plant,” said Whitefish local Nancy Kaumeyer, who exchanged six pounds for $24 in credit. “I think it’s fun to participate.”

Once Great Northern collects the hops, brewers begin the wet-hopped process immediately to create the grassy, earthy and citrusy flavor that only a wet hop creates.

“It’s impossible to accomplish with a dry hop,” said Marcus Duffey, the general manager at the brewing company.

Most brews are made with dry hops, which don’t need to be used right away and go through a secondary fermentation phase, creating a “hoppy” or bitter flavor. In contrast, wet hops are fresh off the vine and must be used right away. Autumn is the only season that the Frog Hop can be brewed because it’s the only time of year that hops can be harvested.

With the 500 pounds of hops, brewers will produce 23 barrels of the Frog Hop, which equates to 5,700 pints. Duffey estimates the seasonal beer will last about 90 days once it hits tap lines.

“It’s the only time of year we can do it,” Duffey said.