BrewView Thomsen Hops Local Hop Farm
By Christopher and Brandilyn Mitchell 
The Brewins HomeBrew Club visited Thomsen Hops farm in Tracy, and got to take part in some hop harvesting with several other homebrew clubs at the annual homebrew club potluck and picnic! We were met by owner Zack Reinstein who took us on a tour and taught us all about hop growing and the history of the farm. 
They moved to the Central Valley by trading land they owned out east-300 acres to be exact- in 1968. In 2020 they devoted 16 of those acres to hops, making them the largest hop farm in California. Not all hops grow well in our hot, sunny climate, but with some changes to the soil, they can grow just fine. They use an “NPK fertilizer blend” (nitrogen, pot ash, potassium), heavy on N in the beginning of growth and then they switch it out to PK later in the season.
Using this fertilizer blend, they are able to harvest enough to create 11,000 pounds of hop pellets each year. Deciding what hops to grow was a challenge also. Hops are planted from rhizomes, not seeds, and for many popular proprietary hops, rhizomes are so expensive they are not lucrative to grow. Thomsen grows Centennial, Cashmere, Chinook, Comet, CTZ, Vista, Bitter Gold and Cascade. If you are an IPA fan, I bet you immediately recognize Centennial and Cascade.
It was a really neat day full of making friends and learning about hops, and we can’t wait to go back next year. If you are interested in buying their pellets for your homebrew, check out their shop here.
Thomsen Hops, 2365 W. Durham Ferry Road, Tracy
zack@thomsenhops.com 209-914-0856
