Last year, retired veterinarian and Gilroyan Dennis Springgay
saw a financial opportunity when a friend informed him there was a
hops shortage in the country.All the major beer companies, such as
Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors were buying up everything that was
available. There was nothing left over for home brewers. Springgay,
62, decided to take a stab at growing hops and selling them, even
though he’d never done anything like it before. But instead of
making a bunch of money, he found a passion.
Last year, retired veterinarian and Gilroyan Dennis Springgay saw a financial opportunity when a friend informed him there was a hops shortage in the country.
All the major beer companies, such as Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors were buying up everything that was available. There was nothing left over for home brewers.
Springgay, 62, decided to take a stab at growing hops and selling them, even though he’d never done anything like it before. But instead of making a bunch of money, he found a passion.
“I don’t make any money on it. I figure I’m getting 25 cents an hour for my labor,” said Springgay with a smile.
Springgay had a difficult time putting into words about what makes growing hops so fulfilling. He insisted it’s the plants themselves that fascinate him.
“They are pretty amazing plants. Once they get going, they take off like crazy. You can literally watch them grow. Eight inches in one day is not uncommon,” Springgay said.
They grow much like grape vines, spiraling up a contraption Springgay built that has several ropes hanging vertically at his Lucky Court residence.
Originally hailing from the small town of Clio, Mich., Springgay met his wife while in college at Michigan State University. They moved to California a few years later. They have two children and are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary this year.
Springgay is eager to talk hops to anyone willing to listen and has become quite knowledgeable. Hops are essentially flower clusters that give beer its flavor. There are different varieties that create the different kinds of beer. They generally start growing in March. They reach their peak in late summer and are dormant in winter.
Springgay initially sold hops to his friend, but quickly found out there were other home brewers in the area and even organizations devoted to it. Springgay said home brewers are allowed to brew their own beer, but aren’t permitted to sell any of it – but they have been known to give plenty of it away.
While a lot of home brewers do grow their own hops, Springgay said they often have a difficult time successfully yielding results.
Springgay on the other hand hasn’t had much of a difficult time.
“I guess it’s because I did enough research before putting these things in,” he said modestly.
For someone with no prior knowledge or experience, he has designed a rather professional setup in his yard. He constructed several poles and ropes, each with an appropriate distance between plants to prevent the bines from interweaving. The first year he harvested two pounds. This year he’s harvested 20.
He’s hoping next year will be even better.
“Apparently there are not a lot of guys willing to sell directly to these home brewers. I’m growing a lot of hops for what I’m doing. But I’d have to double or triple it just to make some money. I’m out here working essentially every day,” Springgay said.
Springgay sells hops at $5 an ounce, shipping included. Normally customers purchase between two and six ounces at a time.
When Springgay first got into growing hops, the last thing he expected was to develop new friendships.
“I’m really enjoying getting to know the people in the home-brewing community,” Springgay said. “They are a lot of fun and very committed to their art. They look at this as art. They are a very close-knit community.”
Patrick M. Horn and his friend Bryan Hermannson call themselves Pacific Brewing Laboratory and are two local home brewers Springgay has worked with.
“What attracted me to Dennis was that he’s local and it’s organic. We got to pick the hops ourselves. It was really amazing to feel. I mean we’re literally picking bugs off them. There aren’t a lot of guys out there growing. It was a great experience. We plan to work with him next year,” Horn said.
An even more unexpected effect was getting acquainted with modern technology – something Springgay has actively resisted doing for years.
“I said I was going to die a dinosaur and was perfectly happy with that, but this thing has brought me into the 21st century. I am learning to be computer literate now, slowly. I have to do e-mail stuff. So, I’m taking computer classes,” Springgay said.
He is having a lot of fun, and even though his new found passion requires him to put in a lot of hard work, he doesn’t mind.
He’s also not taking any of it too seriously.
“I just think it’s silly. Grown men shouldn’t play games like this,” he said laughing. “But it keeps me busy. It keeps me out of trouble.”
For more information, contact Dennis Springgay at da*******@***il.com.
