Longfellow Community Hop Garden takes root

Perhaps the first community-style hop garden in the country just produced its second harvest

Article and all photos by LOREN GREEN

Those who live here already know that Longfellow is a unique place. It’s not just the beauty of the river and the falls, but the people, the culture, and the community that have sprung up in this fertile zone. Community Hops, established in 2013, is thought to be the first community-style hop garden in the US, and it continues to prosper as the vining plants grow into maturity. The garden just finished its second harvest (in year three), and local home-brewers are salivating at the fresh hop options to put into their kettles.

Photo right: The garden, located at 38th St. and Dight Ave., has prospered in the shadow of Hiawatha’s grain elevators. Hops take up to five years to reach full maturity, but in just three years the plants are coming along well.

“I was impressed by the harvest we had last year. It was substantial for a first-year crop,” says Andrew Schmitt, one of the garden’s founders. In its second harvest this year, the garden collected over 50 pounds of hops on Sept. 12.

Schmitt is also a key member of MN Beer Activists and The Minnesota BeerCast, but while those projects display his love of beer, they are separate from the garden itself. Schmitt serves as a spokesman for the garden. He lives in St. Paul and is busy with other jobs, but between the 49 garden members, there is no chore in splitting up the caretaking of the thriving hops, especially since so many members live right in the Longfellow community.

“It’s been quite the transformation from what it was,” he says of the previously vacant corner lot. Owned by Hennepin County, the plot lacks city water that is an inconvenience for the garden, but not a problem. The community garden instead captures rainfall from the neighboring garages through a good faith agreement to construct shared rain gardens. “We have a contingency plan if we really need it,” Schmitt says, but in three years that has yet to happen, and with each year the efficiency of the process is improved.

When they moved in, it was an overgrown lot filled with litter and weeds. The crew cleared out the junk and erected poles and galvanized aircraft cables to secure the upward-growing hop plants. They currently have nine varieties of hops: Mt. Hood, Chinook, Cascade, Centennial, Hallertau, Willamette, Sorachi Ace, and two wild hops. Only the Pacific Gem, native to New Zealand, failed to make it through the Minnesota winter.

Photo left: A vacant lot overrun with weeks and litter was transformed with erected poles and aircraft cables, into the supports needed for the hop vines.

The community is embracing the garden, pests steer clear, and the harvest continues to grow. Aphids and downy mildew are concerns, he says, “but once you get them established hops are pretty hearty.”

The garden’s equipment is mostly donated. Supplies are donated by St. Croix Valley Hops, Hippity Hops Farm, Nomad World Pub, Third Street Brewhouse, Allegra, and others. This aspect is highlighted with a community mural.

“Not everybody lives on a quarter-acre suburban estate where they can put up a trellis,” Schmitt explains. “The goal is to engage the urban communities and give a spot for people who want to go out. If it beautifies and otherwise unusable space, it’s a win for everybody.” They’d like to add a bench so neighborhood residents who aren’t members can enjoy the space too, but that isn’t in the immediate budget. One way that the bounty will be shared, though, is through this season’s harvest

Photo right: The hops were harvested this year on Sept. 12. They collected over 50 pounds from the nine varieties in the garden.

As this season’s hops are collected and dispersed to gardeners, the next step is how to enjoy them. Schmitt notes the quantity is too low for sale to a local brewery—plus many of the members are homebrewers, so it makes perfect sense for the farmers to enjoy their labors. As such, this year will introduce the First Annual Fresh Hop Brew Comp, held at the garden from 12-3pm on Oct. 25. The competition is open to all locally grown, fresh hopped homebrews, but garden members can enter at a discount. Judging is open to the public, ages 21+.

While Community Hops in Longfellow is the first, it will not be the only endeavor in the city. Schmitt has worked with Fair State Brewing Coop in Northeast to plant their own garden, and he continues to gauge interest in more patches.

“We’re not a bunch of scientists or botanists, we’re guys that are into community and beer,” he stresses. Many of the Longfellow members take part to do something green—not because they homebrew themselves—and learning about urban agriculture is an important lesson for all, young and old.

“That’s the neat thing,” Schmitt concludes. “It’s not about beer; it’s about a garden in the community. The beer is just a bonus.”