Kickstarter campaign for my friend the local PA hop yard

[1fast636]

:mods if this breaks rules let me know I will delete just trying to get the word out for my buddy:

Hello fellow Brewers my buddy started a hop yard two years ago in central Pa. He has expanded to 2000 plants this year and launched his kick starter to try and raise funds for a hop harvester for next season. He has worked with Tröegs Brewing Co., Molly Pitcher Brewing Co., Moo-Duck Brewing Co. with fresh hops this year. He really enjoys the grow local brew local and wants to get the east coast back onto the map for hops. His kick starter page can be found here,

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...upplies-fresh-local-hops-for-pa-c/description

Even if you can't help with funds help spread the word everything helps. Go give him a follow on Instagram or Facebook

Instagram: Sunnybraehops
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sunnybraehops

Or check out his webpage and sign up for the updates In the contact us section for news on hops and rhizomes available

http://sunnybraehops.com/

Some pics since this forum loves pics,
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1445291736.571326.jpg
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1445288861.226474.jpg

The harvester:
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1445288885.421966.jpg

Molly Pitcher Brewing
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1445289166.510023.jpg

Moo-Duck Brewing
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1445289208.633337.jpg

Tröegs Brewing Co. Sunny brae (Adam) and deer creek malt collab for the first of the many harvest ales to come
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1445289300.079122.jpg

Couple other pics
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1445289329.661503.jpg
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1445289426.778909.jpg
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1445289450.276719.jpg

 

[jake-k]

Looks good. Best of luck with the hop farm!!!!

 

[numba1brew]

Hopefully you can gain some traction from the post!! I'm seriously considering the hop farm tour.

 

[1fast636]

Yea figured I would throw his name out there and get the word out thru the homebrew community anything to helps

 

[numba1brew]

Yea figured I would throw his name out there and get the word out thru the homebrew community anything to helps

Be sure to keep us updated!

 

[1fast636]

Check out the beer busters episode that they went up to the farm for the interview

Beer Busters by Dan Baker, Steph Heffner, Wayne Baker
https://itun.es/us/EL7EM.c

 

[1fast636]

If the link doesn't support your internet here is the link to there site

http://beerbusterspodcast.com/category/episodes/

Episode 72

 

[1fast636]

14 days to go help if you can if you can't that's fine help spread the word and thanks for looking

 

[kombat]

How many days per year do they actually need the hop harvester? Isn't harvest season only a few days long on a hop yard? Why don't they just rent the machine from another hop yard for the few days a year they actually need it? It seems impractical to buy such an expensive and specialized piece of hardware to just sit in a storage shed for 355 days a year. Maybe they could raise capital using a more conventional means (equity shares, credit, etc.), then recoup the cost by renting their harvester out to other hop farms in the area when they're not using it?

 

[1fast636]

He plans to rent it out to other local hop farms around the area, there are no other ones over here on the east coast that I know of or at least local enough to rent one, but if he does get one that is his plan to rent it out and travel to other hop yards with it in the surrounding area to recoup cost on the purchase, it is tough for a unit to just be chilling all year for harvest time to come around but hand harvesting 2000 plants and in the future he wants to expand more is just un realistic once they start putting out full yield of cones

 

[kombat]

I brought it up because it reminded me of something I learned during a winery tour my wife and I took through the Niagara region last year. The area is peppered with literally dozens of small and family-owned vineyards and wineries. They're too small to financially justify buying their own bottling/corking line that they only need once per year, so an enterprising fellow patrols the region each fall with a tractor trailer containing a mobile bottling and corking machine. Wineries book him when they're ready to bottle, he shows up for the day and bottles their wine, then moves on to the next winery. It's ingenious, and I wondered if a similar model might make sense for your hop yard friend.

 

[NewB2Brewing]

I live near Harrisburg and have certainly heard of Sunny Brae! Do you happen to know if they sell to home brewers?

:mods if this breaks rules let me know I will delete just trying to get the word out for my buddy:

Hello fellow Brewers my buddy started a hop yard two years ago in central Pa. He has expanded to 2000 plants this year and launched his kick starter to try and raise funds for a hop harvester for next season. He has worked with Tröegs Brewing Co., Molly Pitcher Brewing Co., Moo-Duck Brewing Co. with fresh hops this year. He really enjoys the grow local brew local and wants to get the east coast back onto the map for hops. His kick starter page can be found here,

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...upplies-fresh-local-hops-for-pa-c/description

Even if you can't help with funds help spread the word everything helps. Go give him a follow on Instagram or Facebook

Instagram: Sunnybraehops
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sunnybraehops

Or check out his webpage and sign up for the updates In the contact us section for news on hops and rhizomes available

http://sunnybraehops.com/

Some pics since this forum loves pics,
View attachment 310552
View attachment 310529

The harvester:
View attachment 310530

Molly Pitcher Brewing
View attachment 310531

Moo-Duck Brewing
View attachment 310532

Tröegs Brewing Co. Sunny brae (Adam) and deer creek malt collab for the first of the many harvest ales to come
View attachment 310533

Couple other pics
View attachment 310534
View attachment 310535
View attachment 310536

 

[1fast636]

This year everything went to breweries being most everything was 1st year plants, but next year he is hoping to
Beable to sell to home brewers and start selling rhizomes as well

A few more days left to help get them to there goal everything is helpful even just spreading the word about his kick starter