THE PROCESS
100% VERTICALLY INTEGRATED
From plant to pellet, Flathead Valley Hops manages every step in the hop process.
Planting - Flathead Valley Hops plants 844 plants per acre. They use cover crops like wheat, barley, turnips, safflower, millet, and radish to stabilize and improve soil health.
Growing - Hop bines grow on 18 foot trellis at a rate of up to 8 inches per day, turning bare fields into beautiful green forests in just 3 months.
Harvesting - Harvest time is controlled chaos! Flathead Valley Hops brings in 30 seasonal workers to help with harvest. They operate 24 hours a day for up to 6 weeks.
Processing - Using a WOLF 1000 picker, plants are stripped, separated, dried and baled, fresh hops are shipped out. Bines are put into a compost pile which is reused for compost.
Warehousing - 1500 to 2000 bales (each weight 165 lbs.) of hops are pressed and stacked in a freezer at 28 degrees fahrenheit.
Pelletizing - Flathead Valley Hop’s custom built pelletizing facility processes and packages up to 10,000 pounds per day of hop pellets for brewing use.
Shipping - Flathead Valley Hops delivers locally and ships their products worldwide.
HARVEST TIME
"Controlled Chaos"
The Riddle family works 24 hours a day 7 days per week during harvest time. Watch this video to see what it’s like to work on Montana’s largest hop farm during the busiest time of year.