With the Maine craft beer craze in full frenzy and showing no signs of slowing down, Southport resident Mike Barker has launched a hop-growing operation in Alna in hopes of providing local brewers with a homegrown option. Barker broke ground on the Alna Hopyard and Farm yard four years ago with his mother Patricia Krebs, both longtime Southport residents. The inspiration was two-fold.

“For one I really, really love beer,” Barker said. “And I never wanted to run out. I figured if the world was ever going to end at least I'd have the raw ingredients to make more.”

While the apocalypse is hopefully steering clear of Southport for the time being, his other inspiration came from the the Spofford House — a since demolished building located across from the Southport General Store, which had evidence of wild hops growing on its porch in the 1800s, said Barker, who made the discovery through a photograph in a town history book.

“The hops would have been European hops mixed with North American hops,” he said. “They survived in a lot of places, there is no reason why they couldn't have survived here. It started me thinking and I began to research how feasible this would be.”

As most savvy beer drinkers know, the hop is a flower used primarily as a flavoring and stability agent in beer. Depending on the type, hops can provide a fruity, bitter or even citrus flavor. While the United States is second in worldwide hop production to Germany, the majority of domestic hops come from industrialized operations in the Pacific Northwest. The concept of a small hop yard is growing in popularity — Maine currently has roughly a dozen small operations and the University of Maine has launched a program to study sustainable hop production. Elsewhere in New England, the University of Vermont has pioneered an outreach and applied research program for hops.

It can be a high-risk, low-reward pursuit due to the considerable agricultural challenge, Barker said.

“Hops are basically a junkyard plant,” he said. ”In the beginning, we mowed the field and simply threw down the rhizomes which led to a lot of unnecessary weeding over the last three years. Hops are a really complicated crop because of the brewing values that are associated with it. The different chemical compounds can be volatile.”

Located on Dock Road past an aging silo and collection of well-worn trailers, the hop yard in early spring resembles a disparate collection of unruly telephone poles, cables, and lines of bailing twine. The growing season begins in April when the hops begin their slow ascent up the strings and across the cable where they will be at the mercy of the sun and rain until September. The hops can climb as high as 28 feet and are technically a bine not vine, growing in a helix. A hop yard can take three years to reach full production, another deterrent for aspiring farmers.

Not unlike grapes, hops are subject to the whims of Mother Nature with each season presenting a unique set of challenges. The farm primarily harvests cascade hops known for their flowery aroma and citrus overtones, best exemplified by the popular pale ale Sierra Nevada. Hops can be used fresh but are susceptible to rapid spoilage thus brewers prefer a dried, pellet product which can be stored in freezers and used as needed. The process of turning dried hops into pellets can be an arduous and expensive process, Barker said.

“Most of the hops are whole-leaf and not pelletized, which would mean producing beers late in the season after the tourists are gone, so brewers are not able to store it. Really the best time to brew beer is now, in April or May when they can meet the summer demand.”

From a brewer’s perspective, the need for locally sourced hops is huge and demand far outstrips supply, according to Boothbay Craft Brewing owner Win Mitchell, who purchased pellets from Barker last year for a small-batch creation called Strawberry Moon Pale Ale.

“There is a lot of interest from the craft brewing community,” Mitchell said. “I think our goal is to support local farms as much as possible and certainly what Mike is doing in Alna is great.”

The Alna hop yard has also supplied hops to Newcastle-based Oxbow Brewing, Austin Street Brewing, the Liberal Cup, and Allagash Brewing of Portland.

Having survived the initial growing pains, Barker plans to expand his operation to 3.5 acres, putting him in the sweet spot between scrappy start up and established player in the nascent Maine hop industry. Beyond the numbers and financial upside, Barker sees his hop yard as an extension of the local first philosophy in the state.

“I think it's great what is happening in Maine today,” said Barker. “Local people and local products is what it's all about. Especially when it means great beer.”