How a UTIA research team is paving the way for hops production in Tennessee
Mitchell Richmond joined UTIA as a tobacco, hemp, and specialty crop Extension specialist and assistant professor in the UT Department of Plant Sciences in 2021. His work focused on supporting the needs of Tennessee’s tobacco and hemp producers by providing research-backed information and education, but soon after he arrived in Tennessee, farmers across the state expressed an increased interest in a different kind of crop: hops.
Hops, a specialty crop used to add flavor and bitterness to beer, are traditionally grown in regions like the Pacific Northwest where the days are longer and the climate is milder, but with the steady growth of the craft beverage industry in Tennessee and the increased desire among consumers for products featuring locally sourced ingredients, farmers saw an opportunity to tap into a new market.
Growing hops in the Southeast presents challenges, though, because the crop is not well-accustomed to the region’s limited day length and excessive summer heat. Before farmers could take the leap (or, in this case, hop) into this venture, they were going to need some local data to inform their strategy.
That’s where Richmond and his dedicated team of researchers and students come in.
“It was very apparent that many Tennessee farmers wanted to grow hops,” Richmond says, “so it became our goal to learn the difficult, often expensive, lessons about hops production so the producers wouldn’t have to.”
In 2023, the team established the research hopyard at the East Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center, Plant Sciences Unit in Knoxville. They dedicated an acre of land to the project, installing eighty-five twenty-foot-tall poles equipped with coconut coir ropes to form a trellis system for the vertical-growing hop plants. Then in May they planted eighteen varieties of hops throughout the yard.
Over the next few months, Richmond and his team gathered data and insights on establishing and maintaining a hopyard as they monitored several variables, including methods of planting, variety, disease and pest control, and irrigation. Finally, in August, it was time to harvest. Hops is a perennial plant, so Richmond did not expect a significant yield in the planting’s first year. Regardless, several UTIA faculty, staff, and students, along with enthusiastic members of the craft beverage community in Knoxville, gathered to celebrate a successful harvest.
“The first harvest at the UT Hopyard marked an exciting milestone in our research on hops production,” says Hongwei Xin, dean of UT AgResearch. “This project not only supports and diversifies local agriculture but also paves the way for innovative practices that can enhance crop production sustainability and profitability.”
The hopyard produced a second harvest in 2024, beating yield expectations. As Richmond and his team compiled what they learned from their research, they realized there was a lot to be excited about: Several varieties are performing well, and despite Tennessee’s notoriously humid climate, they haven’t seen much disease pressure. But overall yield potential is significantly lacking, which Richmond largely attributes to day length.
“We were thrilled to see so many varieties grow the full twenty feet, but we still have a lot of room for improvement,” Richmond says.
UT Extension will use these findings to provide farmers in Tennessee interested in hops production with local, data-driven information that will give them the best foot forward when establishing their own hopyard.
The hopyard also creates opportunities for collaboration with the local craft beverage industry, which can provide UTIA researchers with valuable insights on market opportunities and challenges with including Tennessee-grown hops in the brewing process.
Through these collaborative efforts, UTIA established an official partnership with a popular East Tennessee brewery, Yee-Haw Brewing. In August 2024, Richmond provided Yee-Haw Brewing’s Knoxville location with fresh hops that head brewer Trevor Daniels used to create Hopyard Pilsner, an unusual wet hop beer.
To support the future of hops production in Tennessee, Yee-Haw committed to contributing a portion of sales from the Hopyard Pilsner to a fund that supports the hopyard research project.
“The research going on to improve hops production in Tennessee is really exciting,” Daniels says. “Increasing access to locally grown hops will give Tennessee brewers the opportunity to utilize unique ingredients and set our region apart in the craft beer industry.”
As Richmond and his team continue paving the way for Tennessee farmers to successfully grow hops, consumers can look forward to one day enjoying craft beverages brewed with fresh Tennessee flavor across the state.
“There is a lot of excitement for hops production brewing across Tennessee,” Richmond says, “and based on our research to date, the future looks bright.”
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