Local hop growers and beer lovers gathered at the Cleaveland House in West Tisbury on Thursday morning for a heavily anticipated annual hop picking event.
This year, 41 participants, many donning T-shirts from previous harvests, sifted through hop-covered plywood for over an hour. They picked over 80 gallons of hops that were grown in backyards and gardens around the Island.
The harvest will be used to brew the limited time Hopps Farm Road Pale Ale at Offshore Ale in Oak Bluffs. Formerly held at Hopps Farm Road, the event relocated to the Cleaveland House in recent years to accommodate the growing number of attendees.
On Thursday, conversations and camaraderie filled the morning. “It’s fun to make wet hoppy beer and it’s fun to be a part of the process,” said Neil Atkins, brewer at Offshore. “I’ll take the harvest down to Oak Bluffs today and brew it tomorrow morning.”
The annual tradition began as an experiment among Island farmers and beer enthusiasts: Allen Northcott, Ken Rusczyk, Artie Moran, and David Maddox. The friends decided to plant hops in their yards for fun nearly 20 years ago.
After the hops were established in Northcott and Rusczyk’s gardens, Northcott started delivering the harvest to the Offshore Ale brewpub. When the harvest became too much, Offshore employee Jessie Holtham decided to help and from there on the event rallied into what it is today.
”The curiosity of what a hop plant looked like made me want to grow it,”said Ken Ruszyk, former Oak Bluffs select board member. “I’ve drank beer my whole life but never stopped to look at a hop.”
The hops are primarily of the Chinook variety, which have proven to thrive on Island, giving the local beer its signature crisp and smooth flavor. Each year, the yield influences the flavor of the brew which is a favorite among locals.
Beyond the harvest, the event culminates in a celebration at the Offshore Ale where participants in the harvest are the first to taste the newly brewed Hopps Farm Road Pale Ale and enjoy fruits of their labor.
