Any interest in a new web-store specifically for hobby hop-growers?

As some of you know, I work for Gorst Valley Hops in WI. We grow and help others to grow hops on the 1 to 10 acre scale then pelletize them for sale to craft brewers. I don't have a vendor's membership here because we really don't have anything to sell to the home grower...yet. (We sell rhizomes, but only in groups of about 100 or more.)

Due to a large number of requests for help in this area, we are toying with the idea of starting a web store specifically for the homebrew hop grower. Ideally it would provide production supplies, rhizomes, fertilizers, etc...everything geared towards growing hops in the back yard...even up to a few hundred plants. The idea would be to give people the jump start they need get a rhizome into properly amended soil as easily as possible so they can start growing.

Its probably too late for most of you since you are all ready set up and learned your lessons the old fashioned way, but would this be of any interest to the average homebrewer? Or is this something that should be left in the domain of the local homebrew stores?

Hi Dan. I'm not sure I would buy anything for hop growing (other than the rhizomes) online - we're got lots of garden stores and nurseries, plus I do my own composting now. Maybe some organic pest control methods, like lady bugs.

Hey Dan,

I will be the first one to say that I would be very interested in having an online destination for hop growing supplies. For the life of my I can not find the stuff I need in this area. This county is one of the fastest growing hop farming areas around the country and we still don't have the supplies. Even though Michigan State University will help you personally get started with growing.

I would order specific fertilizers but more important to me would be a yearly supply of netting to grow hops up. I need more surface area than just a couple strings since my height is limited.

I think you would find it difficult, if not impossible to make a decent business out of it. But if you can afford to hold a small inventory of specialized or hard to find items I am positive that it would be worth the small investment. The only other issue would be whether it is worth your time. In all honesty... for the first couple years I doubt you will make enough to make it worth your time.

So the question really is, are you willing to put in your time to simply help out fellow home brewers to break even or make very little?

rollinred said:

...The only other issue would be whether it is worth your time. In all honesty... for the first couple years I doubt you will make enough to make it worth your time.

So the question really is, are you willing to put in your time to simply help out fellow home brewers to break even or make very little?

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You hit it on the head. We stock all the supplies for the small scale growers (1-10 acres), we just don't have the time to break it up to sell in units of 1 or 2...or at least that's what we think. Then we sat back and looked at our allocation of time and realized we spend a good portion of our time fielding calls/e-mails from home growers, figuring out the answer and then advising them to go to 7 different places to get what they need.

So instead, we could spend the same amount of time answering questions and then just ship out what they need. It saves them time and we make a little money off our time where we didn't make any before. Therefore break even or making very little suddenly looks attractive.

Just to answer the next logical question, why do we want to help home brewers/growers? Well, we need growers to feed our pelletizer so we are always looking for new growers. What we've seen is that often the guy/gal that is jazzed about 5 plants in the backyard eventually becomes a 1 acre grower for us down the road. Plus the simple fact that it is fun.

Its worth a shot right? I'd buy hop specific supplies online but I have to buy rhizomes locally because i'm in WA.

This is my first year growing a couple of plants just to try it out. My inlaws live on 80 acres and we've talked about using some of his land to grow hops. So next year we will try it out on an acre and then go from there.

On your site you could have a section for customers that they would login to see all past questions and answers on growing hops. Eventually most of the questions and answers would be in there.

GVH_Dan said:

You hit it on the head. We stock all the supplies for the small scale growers (1-10 acres), we just don't have the time to break it up to sell in units of 1 or 2...or at least that's what we think. Then we sat back and looked at our allocation of time and realized we spend a good portion of our time fielding calls/e-mails from home growers, figuring out the answer and then advising them to go to 7 different places to get what they need.

So instead, we could spend the same amount of time answering questions and then just ship out what they need. It saves them time and we make a little money off our time where we didn't make any before. Therefore break even or making very little suddenly looks attractive.

Just to answer the next logical question, why do we want to help home brewers/growers? Well, we need growers to feed our pelletizer so we are always looking for new growers. What we've seen is that often the guy/gal that is jazzed about 5 plants in the backyard eventually becomes a 1 acre grower for us down the road. Plus the simple fact that it is fun.

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Sorry to resurrect a seemingly dead post but as this above section was directed at myself I feel I should reply to the guy trying to help us out.

I know what you mean Dan about getting calls from people who you must be nice to but just wish you could hang up on because you have better things to be doing. This happens to me all the time with people asking for us to fix their Kitchen Aide mixers. It is not worth our time to even talk to them because they will usually never spend a dollar with us. But I always think about how I would want to be treated while talking to them.

I would say that your only hope is if you offer a unique inventory or service along with the basic items for hop growers. Either that our your prices are lower than others.

Like I said. One item in particular, mesh net for growing hops is something i am in need of. But even if I order that from you in a 40 foot chunk it is still not really worth your time and effort unless you mark it up substantially.


But you must tell us what products you would offer for us to make a realistic economical prediction to your question.

We would ALL be interested in having another hop product supplier. That doesn't mean we would all use that source. I know you are simply trying to gather data and as a business man myself I would suggest that this is such a small market you might want to consider gathering your data based upon what products you would offer the consumer.

I used to own a video store- an obsolete technology. I bring it up because once upon a time I was a business owner. What I keep thinking about on this topic is, "Are there enough customers?"

I can say, as a guy that's been doing it for three years now- I don't need a source for 'hop stuff'. I've got all of it. Now as a first time buyer, did I shell out some money? I bit- but home brewers are notoriously cheap.

One the other hand it might be useful if GVH had a supplemental revenue source. If your fielding calls for XYZ, maybe it's worth it to give it some time.

A first year buyer needs rhizomes and twine. What else really? I guess I just keep thinking how many items will you offer? If your just spending time answering questions, I dunno... that's not a market. That's just you being nice. Dunno. Beside attending a hop education seminar- I can't think of anything I need to buy. Just material to consider.

If you do start one, you will probably want to sell these. They rock! :rockin:



Blatant self promotion aside, I too would be interested in a store like you are proposing. It would be a really nice one-stop-shop.

If you do it, maybe you could sell something like some trellis plans with hardware. The buyer would just supply his/her own lumber. Hmmm...maybe not the greatest idea, but think outside the box like that and you never know...

Nice link Schmidty, when are you going to give us a price and lead time?

My suburban garden has TWENTY TWO plants that need names.

schmidty_nd said:

If you do start one, you will probably want to sell these. They rock! :rockin:

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Those are pretty sweet. If we do get this going, that would be perfect kind of extra item we should probably carry.

Thanks for the advice everyone. You are all right. There is such a small market for hop growers that I don't think anyone could make a living off of just that. Dealing with the one's and two's probably isn't profitable for us but since we can't help ourselves from answering a bunch of questions when someone calls, we almost have to do something like this.

Not sure if we'll do this or not, but this will be one of the first places we announce if we do.

I welcome it with open arms! My LHBS does not sell rhizomes... Bring it please!!!

Your lhbs might not but there are already numerous online vendors that do. As for other hop-related incidentals, you're now competing with garden shops as they carry everything you'd need already. Can you price competitively with them? Id guess not

If nothing else, marketing to homebrewers will expand your market. It is the next logical step from your free consultations or questions you are currently offering. The one or two off purchases may not pay the bills, but the customer service it sounds like you offer will make long term customers. I don't doubt that it will start slowly, but would be willing to bet that it wouldn't be too long before you start to break even. Not to mention that you would probably get a few that get so caught up with this that they rollover into your 1 to 10 acre size customers.