Great Northern Brewing trades beer vouchers for homegrown hops

Great Northern Brewing Co. in Whitefish is staging a Hop Swap Tuesday to allow local residents with homegrown hops to swap hops for beer.

Four years ago Head Brewer Joe Barberis discovered hops grows abundantly well in this area and collaborated with Whitefish’s Purple Frog Gardens on harvesting its crop of hops in late September.

At the harvest’s completion, the 2-acre tract of land yields nearly 100 pounds of wet hops. Within 24 hours, a single batch is brewed with these hops to ensure that they still are extremely fresh.

Everyone with home-grown hops is encouraged to bring them to the brewery during the Hop Swap to exchange them for beer vouchers. Since Frog Hop is a “wet-hopped” beer, the hops must be picked within 24 hours of the Sept. 20 event. They must be whole-leaf green hops with little to no browning. All stems and leaves should be removed.

The Hop Swap will be held in front of Great Northern Brewery on Tuesday at 2 Central Avenue from 5 to 7:30 p.m.

Email brewmaster@greatnorthernbrewing.com or call 863-1000 ext. 2.