Buried deep within the Santa Rita Hills just outside of Lompoc near Cebada Canyon Road, Casey Birthisel and Brian DeBolt are growing a hops garden. Driving up to a password-protected gate, Birthisel punches in the code and takes a long, winding road up a hill lined with white fences. He drives up to another gate, punches in another code, and drives around a greenhouse filled with blueberry plants to an open, sandy field.
This is the Pacific Valley Hop Nursery. Four rows of hop vines climb up ropes made of coconut husks, each connected to a main rope that’s connected to evenly spaced, rusted metal poles about 20 feet high. Each row’s fed by an irrigation system.
Birthisel and DeBolt started their project in March. The two friends are on a quest to determine how well the plant can grow in the arid, Mediterranean-style climate of Santa Barbara County.
Growing in a cone, hops—or Humulus lupulus—are an essential ingredient in beer that performs several functions. For one, it acts as a preservative. When the British exported beer to India during the 19th century, it was loaded with hops so it could survive the long voyage, hence the term India Pale Ale. It also imparts fragrance and a tangy, bitter taste to beer that some find enjoyable.
Working as a taproom manager at Buellton’s Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company, Birthisel was interested in growing his own hops. Being friends with DeBolt, who’s an electrician by trade but sells hop rhizomes on the side, they linked up and started the nursery. DeBolt and Birthisel met at the Buellton brewery when DeBolt showed up at an event trying to peddle several varieties of hops.
Selling them from Shasta to San Diego, the rhizomes DeBolt sells basically look like a small piece of root with a couple of chutes branching out.
The nursery holds seven varieties planted at differing times—Cascade, centennial, Chinook, Columbus, nugget, magnum, and Yakima gold. Each is supposed to give beer its own unique flavor. The cones are the female flowers of the plant, and the cones in the nursery are just starting to show.
The majority of hops harvested in the U.S. come from the Pacific Northwest region, favoring cooler climates. Worldwide, hops are generally grown above the 48th northern parallel. The U.S. is second behind Germany in producing hops, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, although both Birthisel and DeBolt say the hops grown in Germany taste slightly different than what’s grown in the U.S.
The reason could be terroir, which DeBolt describes as the characteristic of the local climate and soil that imparts flavors into the hops. The same phenomenon affects wine grapes.
The garden is relatively young, but the vines can grow fast. Birthisel estimates hops can grow up to a foot each day. Some varieties grow faster than others. He projects that it should take about two years to get a decent harvest.
“You got to put time in before you get a harvest,” Birthisel said while sipping from a can of Fig Mountain kolsch under the sun’s dry heat.
Even though he’s in the business of beer, it’s not exactly what he aspired to do. Originally from Fort Collins, Colo., Birthisel studied at the local community college and Colorado State University, earning a degree in horticulture and landscape design. He wishes he could apply his degree in more ways than one, but the hop garden seems to be a good start.
“Slinging beer doesn’t really fall into my studies,” Birthisel said, “but it seems to be now.”
Birthisel said anybody can grow a hop garden, but expect to shell out some coin to get a good one going. Even with a “buddy hook-up,” DeBolt and Birthisel’s garden cost around $2,000. Constant attention is needed, too. DeBolt estimates he checks up on the garden every other day or so.
The hop plant needs water, of course. Sandra Newman from Forbidden Fruit Orchards generously lends her water supply to Birthisel and DeBolt.
Besides wanting to know if hops can successfully grow in this county, Birthisel wants to grow some hops for his own home brewing hobby. He hinted at the possibility of a commercial venture, selling fresh, locally-grown hops to local breweries. It’s too early to tell, but he does know that the popularity of craft beer is causing the hops business to be rather lucrative.
Next year, the two friends expect to see a “green wall” of hops growing in their garden. It’s small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, since commercial producers plant hundreds of acres of hops. They’re both hoping someone will come along and gift them with an investment to grow more. For now, though, DeBolt believes someone in the area will take interest in their garden.
“Locally sourced,” DeBolt said. “That’s the point.”
Contact Staff Writer David Minsky at dminsky@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jul 16-23, 2015.