Elk Mountain Farms gets the benefit of a late spring, Atkins says, so the plants can grow at a more natural rate. This is where Atkins’ hops end up, before their metamorphosis into beer. He doesn’t want hops emerging too quickly in the spring, and adds, “What happens if they grow too early is that you end up pruning them several times. At some point, you exhaust their ability to reemerge.”

Hop production at the farm was soft for a few years because of low demand. It wasn’t until Goose Island was acquired by Anheuser-Busch that the farm was put to full use.

“As Goose Island grew, as our needs for hops developed, we decided we need to go check out the soil, go talk to the farmers. We need to start growing some of our hops there,” says Goose Island’s head brewer and hop expert Keith Gabbett.

Once the hops finish their journey from the field and through the picker, kiln and baler, it’s out of Atkins’ hands. He must pass the baton to Gabbett and Goose Island brewmaster Jared Jankoski, who are both based in Chicago.