A few weeks after starting a fundraising effort to purchase a hop processor Wading River hop farmer John Condzella – whose hops were used by Port Jeff Brewing Company last year, and will likely be used again by them in the future – surpassed his on Monday.

The machine – called "The Wolf" – will allow both his farm on Route 25A, as well as other hop farmers on Long Island, to harvest one of the main ingredients for beer at a much faster rate, leading to better and fresher use for a blossoming microbrew industry (one of which was funded through a Kickstarter campaign of its own). Several Long Island breweries have used Condzella's hops, including Port Jeff Brewing Company, Rocky Point Artisan Brewers, Long Ireland Beer Company, Greenport Harbor Brewing Co., and more.

"I just wish we could get more," said Port Jeff Brewing Company owner Mike Philbrick last month. Philbrick said he gets most of his hops from Germany or Washington State, though brewed up a Fresh Hop Ale last summer using Condzella hops. "Everyone likes drinking local beer, but ingredients for the beer come from all over the world."

RPAB used Condzella's Mt. Hood hops in its Local Hop Pils last year, and co-owner Donavan Hall noted that "local ingredients are a priority for us." The brewery even harvested its own barley last year, grown at Garden of Eve in Riverhead. Condzella said that due to the extensive time it can take to hand-pick hops – about an hour per plant – and the number of plants grown (about 1,000) he ended up throwing out hundreds of dollars in crops last year. The Wolf, which can process an acre of hops in an eight-hour work day, would drastically change that.