Gibsonia veteran, Unity in-law hop on crop trend to supply craft brewers - TribLIVE

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Devin Winklosky was the black sheep of his Derry Township farming family.

While his three siblings all carried on the clan’s agricultural legacy, Winklosky served in the Marines for two decades and has since lived in Gibsonia, specializing in commercial litigation as a Pittsburgh attorney.

This year, he’s returning to his farming roots with a new specialty — growing hops for the region’s burgeoning craft brewing industry.

Winklosky and his brother-in-law, Sam Stoner, are preparing to overwinter nearly 1,500 perennial hop plants they planted on Memorial Day weekend on a 2-acre section of Stoner’s Unity farm previously used as a cattle pasture and grain field.

The new hop yard is the latest effort to diversify the Stoner farm, which formerly concentrated on raising dairy cattle. Winklosky has dubbed the enterprise Teufel Hunden Hops Co., which translates as “Devil Dog,” a name German soldiers had for U.S. Marines in World War I.

“I wanted to get back into doing something in agriculture and I wanted to run my own business and do something fun. I came up with this crazy idea and pitched it to my brother-in-law.”

To Winklosky’s delight, “Sam was very receptive to putting in a hop yard. He has a real depth of experience in farming.”

Winklosky noted the hop plant, whose green cones add a pleasingly bitter flavor to many beers, remains uncommon within Pennsylvania’s borders, but is getting less so.

While the U.S. hop industry primarily is centered in the Pacific Northwest, it gained a small foothold in Pennsylvania. The number of acres in the state devoted to the crop increased from 5.5 in 2015 to 50 in 2019, according to the Hop Growers of America.

Penn State researchers have suggested the expansion of hop production in Pennsylvania and in other states is being fueled by demand from the growing number of craft brewers. Winklosky is hoping to join that trend, along with a move toward use of local ingredients in foods and beverages.

Though he has no agreements in place to sell hops, Winklosky has “talked to a number of craft brewers, and they’re very interested.”

He plans to tailor his venture to those prospective customers’ needs, right down to the seven varieties of hop plants he selected for cultivation.

“I went around to various craft breweries, mainly in Westmoreland County, but also some in eastern Allegheny and Butler counties, and I looked at their seasonal menus,” Winklosky said. “If they had the hops listed that they used, I took note of those.”

He also compared notes with established growers in New York and Ohio, to determine hop varieties that would produce the best yields.

“We have a high-density hop yard,” Winklosky said. “We’re hoping to get twice the normal yield,” or about 3-4 pounds of hops per plant.

He and his brother-in-law are promoting development of two bines from each plant, rather than the single bine that is traditional. The bine is a twisting stem that grows vertically from the ground up to a network of cables supported by 18-foot poles.

“The traditional amount of hops is 11 pounds in a bag,” Winklosky said. “Usually, that’s too much for a craft brewer. Our plan is to offer alternative volumes, 1- or 5-pound bags they can use without wasting it or having to store it.”

One drawback of growing hops is the initial investment in labor and equipment. Winklosky estimated the up-front costs for Teufel Hunden at $25,000, including the plants themselves, the poles and cables, an irrigation system, a harvesting machine and conversion of a former milking parlor — where additional machines will reduce the hops to vacuum-packed pellets that can be frozen for up to three years.

Since it will take three years for the hop plants to produce their ideal yield, Winklosky figures it may take five years to recoup the investment.

The local hop yard is getting an early marketing boost from the Pennsylvania Veteran Farming Project, which has highlighted the Unity farm on its website among a dozen veteran-owned agribusiness ventures across the state producing hops, wine, beer, spirits or tea.

Also mentioned on the site is GEMS, a Carlisle-area hop farm operated since 2017 by Navy veteran Michael Reifsnyder. Though further along in its development, with about 3,400 plants producing cones, the farm has yet to become self-sustaining, he said.

Reifsnyder was inspired to grow hops, in part, because “it’s something different, not your normal crop.”

He found the coronavirus pandemic created another challenge in marketing his hops to area brewers. Because pandemic restrictions have reduced business at brewpubs, many owners are reluctant to experiment, sticking with the tried-and-true beer varieties and hop suppliers, he said.

“I think it would be wonderful to see the hop industry growing in Pennsylvania,” said Winklosky. After all, he said, “Pennsylvania has a very robust craft brewing industry. It’s right up there with California and Colorado, and it’s growing.”

Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jeff at 724-836-6622, jhimler@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Categories: Local | Pennsylvania | Westmoreland