Wire supports help the climbing hop vines grow vertically. When it's harvest time, trucks will drive down these paths, scooping up the vines into the back of the truck bed as they go.
A closer look at the wire system.
A truck returns from a harvest run with a bed full of hop vines.
A closer look at the hops in the truck bed. The hop cones are the only part of the vine that is needed. The leaves and stems will have to be removed from the plant.
Workers begin loading the vines onto a conveyor machine that will carry the hops into a thresher where the stems and leaves can be removed.
Another view of the workers loading up the conveyor belt.
Two trucks can be unloaded at once at this hop farm. Once loaded, the ceiling conveyor transports the hops towards the thresher.
Different hop farm. Same idea.
The hops transported across the ceiling conveyor enter the thresher, which cuts away most of the vine and separates it from the hop cones.
Threshing hop vines means plenty of mess.
The hop cones and leaves, now separated from the vine, run down another conveyor belt.
The leaves are still attached to the cone after the first round of threshing.
The conveyor belt runs the hops into the second machine, which will remove the leaves.
Ah! That's the stuff. Hop cones!
The hop cones are now transported into large vats. That yellow machine will push the hops to smooth them out and keep the level consistent while a worker will remove any lingering leaves or stems that might have made it through the threshing.
A smoothed out vat of hops. Harvesters will soon blow hot air beneath these hops to dry them, so it is vital that the hops are packed in just right to prevent them from blowing all over the place or catching fire.
These hops are still carrying a lot of water. After drying, they'll lose most of their weight.
Dried hops are jetisoned out of the vats to the rooms below.
Giant hills of dried hops are carried to their next destination.
A beer fan goes hop diving.
Dried hops are pressed into blocks and wrapped to prepare them for shipping and refrigeration.
Now that's what I call a fresh hop beer.
