Mighty Axe Hops, Minnesota’s largest hop farm and processor, is up for sale as the result of a storm that devastated the hop farm’s 2019 crop. Late in the evening on Labor Day in 2019, roughly halfway through their harvest season, Mighty Axe’s hopyard in Foley, Minnesota, was hit by 55-mph straight-line winds that snapped … [ Read more]
The Next Phase In Local Craft Beer: Homegrown Hops
September 11, 2018 by
For the casual craft beer drinker in Minnesota, supporting local breweries usually means frequenting area taprooms and buying Minnesota-made beer at the liquor store. But with the increasing availability of locally grown brewing ingredients such as hops, the next step in the craft movement involves seeking out beers that go one step further and use ingredients harvested as close … [ Read more]
The Mill: Mighty Axe prepares for mightiest hop harvest yet
August 29, 2017 by
August 23–August 29 After expanding their three-and-a-half acre hop growing operation in Ham Lake to a 40-acre hop yard in Foley, Mighty Axe Hops are preparing to haul in their largest harvest to date. “We’ve got 80 acres of trellis installed—40 acres of hops planted, and the next 40 is what we’re doing now,” Mighty … [ Read more]
Mighty Axe Hops releases second edition of Minnesota Hops Grower’s Guide
April 5, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Does spring have you dreaming of growing hops? Those lupulin-filled daydreams may be more attainable than you might think. Mighty Axe Hops, Minnesota’s largest commercial hop grower, has made the second edition of their Minnesota Hops Grower’s Guide available to download for free. In April 2015, Mighty Axe released their first edition, which included recommendations for those interested … [ Read more]
Video: Relive the 2016 harvest at Mighty Axe Hops
January 9, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Come harvest time, Mighty Axe Hops, one of The Growlers 2016 Trailblazers, hosts their annual Mighty Pick celebration and enlists volunteers to help them harvest that year’s crop. Thirst Network created the above video documenting the 2016 harvest at the Third Annual Mighty Pick.
Trailblazers 2016
November 30, 2016 by Leave a Comment
What’s the value of a brewery’s stance on mining? Why be concerned with obscure English apples? What’s so important about a chicken sandwich at a stadium? Why does it matter if a basketball team weighs in on current events? The answer to all those questions is the same: it makes a difference. There are people … [ Read more]
Trailblazers 2016: Ben Boo and Eric Sannerud of Mighty Axe Hops
November 30, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Before Mighty Axe Hops announced a massive expansion plan this summer, Minnesota’s hop-growing industry wasn’t much of an industry at all. The state’s overall production was driven primarily by a patchwork of small-scale growers operating on one-acre plots or smaller. While these farms were able to harvest enough hops to sell to their local brewery … [ Read more]
Mighty Axe Hops expansion more than doubles Minnesota’s hop acreage
June 4, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The Friday before Memorial Day, folks are often packing up the car to head to the cabin, sneaking off from work early or firing up the grill. Not Eric Sannerud and Benjamin Boo. They were in a field, in the cold rain, training tendrils of hop bines up strings of twine 20 feet in the … [ Read more]
Mighty Axe Hops Releases Free Minnesota Hops Grower’s Guide
April 21, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Growing hops can be a treacherous journey filled with scary-sounding pitfalls like nutrient deficiencies, spider mites and downey mildew. Done right, however, even the backyard hop grower can yield bountiful bines of fresh, hoppy goodness. The folks over at Mighty Axe Hops in Ham Lake, Minnesota, today released the Minnesota Hop Grower’s Guide, a 21-page overview that … [ Read more]
A U of M Design Class Crafted Tap Handles for Three Minnesota Breweries
January 15, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Photos by Warren Bruland If you were at the University of Minnesota’s Campus Club on December 16, 2014, you got a firsthand look at an exciting collaboration between some of Minnesota’s best craft brewers and designers. If you weren’t, don’t worry: You can see the fruits of the collaboration at Excelsior Brewing Company and Fair State … [ Read more]
The Mill: 612Brew Day and Charitable Drinking
June 10, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The Mill is feeling content with long nights, cribbage marathons and the occasional Hamm’s. Don’t forget to hop on the Green Line this weekend and support some construction-plagued businesses. We sure plan to, and we’ll update you as we do. Events: Mayor Hodges will declare this Thursday “SIX ONE TWO BREW DAY” in the city … [ Read more]
