Despite ideal growing conditions, small and independent growers in Michigan face a range of challenges, including climate change, market contraction, labor shortages\u2014and an ongoing lack of visibility for women in the industry.<\/p>\n
Guiding the Growth: Erin Lizotte, MSU<\/h2>\n
Ask anyone involved with Michigan hops, and they\u2019ll tell you that without Michigan State University<\/a> (MSU), the industry wouldn\u2019t be thriving. And when it comes to pest management, climate shifts, or crop concerns, Erin Lizotte\u2019s name rises to the top.<\/p>\n As MSU\u2019s integrated pest management coordinator and senior statewide educator, Lizotte is one of several experts whom growers across the state can consult for a variety of issues. From diagnosing disease to navigating chemical approvals, the extension team offers timely, research-backed support that hop farmers trust. Their close collaboration with MSU\u2019s Plant and Pest Diagnostics<\/a> lab helps ensure growers have access to critical testing.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s incredibly knowledgeable and responsive,\u201d one grower said. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t feel confident making some of these decisions without her input.\u201d<\/p>\n Michigan\u2019s hop resurgence also depends on skilled propagators such as Julie Kane. With more than 20 years of experience in the greenhouse industry, Kane had been growing flowering annuals and perennials alongside the Vanden Heuvel family at Sandy Ridge Farms<\/a> in Zeeland, Mich. Then, around 2008, interest in hops reignited across the state.<\/p>\n \u201cOur greenhouse was the first propagator and grower in Michigan,\u201d Kane says. \u201cAs requests for hop plants grew, it became clear someone needed to take the reins\u2026and that someone was me.\u201d<\/p>\n Hops quickly became her specialty. Kane leaned into research and observation to determine how to grow the healthiest plants possible. Soon, she earned a reputation for quality starter stock. But as one of the few women in a male-dominated field, her expertise wasn\u2019t always recognized early on.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the beginning, group conversations were sometimes directed around me,\u201d she recalls. \u201cBut as our reputation for quality grew, the barriers started to fall away.\u201d<\/p>\n Kane follows a Clean Plant protocol: Starting with a virus-free mother plant from the Clean Plant Network<\/a>, she ensures strict sanitation of tools, applies preventative fungicide sprays, and schedules yearly testing with MSU to keep their stock clean.<\/p>\n Climate change has made this work even more crucial. Kane points to this past summer\u2019s prolonged heat wave as a clear stressor on her crop.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was unusually hot and humid all season,\u201d she says. \u201cInside the greenhouses, it was easily over 100 degrees. We added extra shade cloth and increased watering and fungicide applications just to keep the plants alive.\u201d<\/p>\n Kane praises MSU researchers for their work getting growers the tools to fight disease. She also sees more women stepping into both growing and brewing roles and describes the greenhouse side of the industry as \u201cvery accepting.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBeing just a small part of bringing the hop industry back to Michigan will be remembered as one of my most fulfilling accomplishments,\u201d she says. \u201cI have growers that stop by just to say hi and give updates. I love the hop plant\u2014it smells amazing. And there\u2019s nothing better after a hot day in the greenhouse than a cold craft beer made with Michigan hops.\u201d<\/p>\n Bonnie Steinman\u2019s hop journey started with a backyard experiment. A longtime horticulturist and pest management pro, she planted a few rhizomes and was hooked. Since then, she\u2019s co-founded Hop Head Farms, worked with MSU researchers, and now serves as land steward at Bell\u2019s Brewery<\/a> in Comstock. There, she oversees hop yard operations and mentors colleague Elizabeth Mullins, who helps lead harvest and field operations.<\/p>\n Steinman\u2019s role evolved out of a long-standing working relationship with John Mallett, former vice president of operations at Bell\u2019s. \u201cJohn knew I could grow quality hops. That\u2019s really how it started,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd he understood the value of investing in local agriculture.\u201d<\/p>\n One early learning experience came under Mallett\u2019s guidance. Instead of rushing the harvest, he told Steinman to trust her senses. \u201cSmell them every day,\u201d he said. \u201cTell me what you notice.\u201d At first, the Chinook smelled grassy, then fruity, then sticky with resinous oils. That daily practice of rubbing and smelling cones stuck with her and now it\u2019s part of how she teaches others.<\/p>\n Mullins, who has a background in pest management, scouts the yard with Steinman to monitor for threats. \u201cWe grow five varieties, and now I can ID them just by looking at the cones,\u201d she says. Together, Steinman and Mullins manage the brewery\u2019s two-and-a-half-acre hop yard and broader sustainability efforts, including an apple orchard, employee garden, butterfly waystation, and a special area of the yard known as The Hideaway. Inspired by Steinman\u2019s visit to TopWire Hop Project<\/a> in Oregon, The Hideaway is a lush, green gathering space beneath the towering bines.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like being underwater in a kelp forest,\u201d Steinman says. \u201cI wanted people to see hops the way we do\u2014surrounded by them at their peak.\u201d<\/p>\n For Steinman, a successful harvest isn\u2019t just about logistics; it\u2019s emotional. \u201cI\u2019ve been staring at these plants since April,\u201d she says. \u201cWe go through a lot together.\u201d And the real reward is knowing that brewers will make great beer with them. \u201cTo sit down and enjoy those beers\u2014that feels like success.\u201d<\/p>\n That passion extends to the community. Steinman and Mullins welcomed members of the Pink Boots Society, a group supporting women and nonbinary professionals in the beverage industry, to step into the Hideaway, right when the hops were most alive.<\/p>\n With more than 40 years of experience as an automotive engineer and quality control specialist, Trowbridge brought structure and intention to the farm. She built a process-driven operation where everyone is trained, tasks rotate, and every workday ends with a team debrief, just as it did back on the plant floor. \u201cAt the end of every shift, we all gather. Some have a beer, some don\u2019t, and we talk about what went well, what didn\u2019t, what could be better,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n At harvest time, her role is orchestration: keeping everyone on time, adjusting the schedule as needed, and ensuring each crew member knows what comes next. She doesn\u2019t shy away from making decisions, and she certainly doesn\u2019t need a whip to run a tight ship.<\/p>\n \u201cChinook is Michigan\u2019s variety,\u201d says Steinman. \u201cIt has its own identity\u2014pineapple, fruit, less resin than the Pacific Northwest.\u201d She believes it deserves far more attention from brewers nationwide. Since 2017, Michigan\u2019s signature hop has taken center stage at the Great Beer State Conference and Trade Show<\/a>, where the Chinook Cup honors the best of the harvest.<\/p>\n The contest, hosted by Hop Growers of Michigan<\/a>, gives growers a chance to showcase their finest Chinook and take home serious bragging rights. For years, Rose Stahl, co-owner of Mr. Wizard\u2019s Hops in Monroe, has helped organize the event, just one of many ways she has helped move the industry forward.<\/p>\n Stahl\u2019s journey into hop farming started not with a business plan, but with a ruined cornfield and a casual suggestion from her son. After 30 solid days of rain, which turned part of their southeast Michigan farm into a lake\u2014so deep that eagles were bathing in it\u2014Rose and her husband, John, were at a loss. <\/p>\n \u201cWe lost over five acres of corn,\u201d she recalled. Her son, who had just started working at Short\u2019s Brewing<\/a> near Traverse City, looked at their sandy soil and said, \u201cWhy don\u2019t you try growing hops?\u201d Rose turned to him and asked, \u201cWhat are hops?\u201d <\/p>\n That summer, they planted a test row, harvested enough to brew a small batch of beer, and threw a party in their greenhouse to share it. Encouraged by the results, they planted two acres the following year.<\/p>\n Ten years later, Stahl is still in the field, though she admits they\u2019re starting to scale back. \u201cWe\u2019re getting older,\u201d she says with a laugh, \u201cbut it\u2019s been one heck of a ride.\u201d<\/p>\n Hop farming may appear to be a male-dominated industry, but many Michigan farms thrive thanks to women doing essential behind-the-scenes labor. On family farms, men are often the public face, \u201cbut women make substantial contributions that often go unseen,\u201d insists Amy Tennis of Michigan Hop Alliance<\/a>.<\/p>\n She spent nearly a decade working full-time off the farm while spending evenings in the yard\u2014mowing, weeding, training bines, managing irrigation, applying for grants, organizing fundraisers, and handling the books. Farming, she says, is humbling. You learn something one year, and it\u2019s another year before you can apply it. It\u2019s a long game, and Michigan\u2019s hop story is still being written, but the women behind the bines are shaping what comes next.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not the Pacific Northwest,\u201d says Nicole Shriner, hops researcher at MSU. \u201cBut we can carve out our own identity. We want people to say, \u2018Oh, this has Michigan hops in it,\u2019 and know that means something special.\u201d<\/p>\nPropagating the Future: Julie Kane, Sandy Ridge Farms<\/h2>\n
![\"Julie](\"https:\/\/cdn.craftbeer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/20251113152713\/Julie-Kane.jpg\")
Rooted in Stewardship: Bonnie Steinman & Elizabeth Mullins, Bell\u2019s Brewery<\/h2>\n
![\"Bonnie](\"https:\/\/cdn.craftbeer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/20251113153929\/Bonnie-Steinman.jpg\")
Built for Quality: Mel Trowbridge, Top Hops Farm<\/h2>\n
![\"Mel](\"https:\/\/cdn.craftbeer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/20251113153130\/Mel-Trowbridge.jpg\")
Celebrating Chinook: Rose Stahl, Mr. Wizard\u2019s Hops<\/h2>\n
![\"Rose](\"https:\/\/cdn.craftbeer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/20251113153351\/Rose-Stahl.jpg\")
Carving Out an Identity<\/h2>\n