Elk River Hops, LLC, with a hop yard located near Carsonville, Michigan, began operations in 2008 with a goal of producing quality “hand crafted” hops. Family owned and operated, Elk River Hops is focused on perfecting growing and processing hop varieties that were specifically developed to thrive in Michigan. We currently have 12 acres of hops under cultivation with varieties including Mackinac, Chinook, Paradigm, Michigan Copper, Mt. Hood, Willamette, Cascade and Magnum.

In 2020, we began a transition to premium hops designed to take advantage of the unique climate and soil found in the Thumb region of the state. We joined the Great Lakes Hops Select Hop Grower Group and began planting their new proprietary varieties which were developed and tested in cooperation with local brewers. As we continue to scale back some of our more traditional varieties, we look to our brewing partners to help select the premium hop varieties that they would like to use to produce unique beers for their market.

Elk River Hops has a harvest and processing center licensed by MDARD and we are MAEAP certified in Farmstead and Cropping. We also qualified for a Verified Source designation from the Hop Growers of Michigan indicating that we meet their high-quality standards in growing, harvesting and processing hops.  In addition to processing and marketing our own crop, we provide harvest support and processing for small hop farms across Southeast Michigan.

Beginning in 2020, Elk River Hops partnered with newly founded Meadows Farms in Port Sanilac, Michigan. Meadows Farm will initially add 5 cultivated acres to the production capacity of the combined operation and will be planted exclusively in premium hops developed for our area. Marketed under the name “Elk Meadows”, processed hops are being currently being sold to brewers from New York to Colorado.