OTTAWA — Hop cultivation, which has been dormant in Quebec for more than 60 years, could see a revival, thanks to a $400,000 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Quebec Ministry of Agriculture research project in a rural part of the province.
The study will help two farmers in Pontiac Country, near the Ontario border, grow 10 varieties of hops to determine which ones grow best and are most disease-resistant. The research project is expected to last three to five years.
Jacques Lance, who has a 364-hectare farm on Grand Calumet Island, said hop cultivation could help Quebec cattle and cash crop farmers diversify their crops and increase their incomes.
Richard Gravel, an Agriculture Canada spokesman, said scientists suggested the project in 2005 when the price of hops doubled. Gravel said almost all Quebec microbreweries are interested in the Pontiac study because they want locally produced hops.
Lance said the price of hops — green cone-shaped flowers that give beer a bitter tang — recently increased by more than 400 per cent in one year. He said even though the price has since declined he hopes to receive at least $10 a pound for this year's crop from a small, experimental plot.
An Agriculture Canada explanation of the project said it would transfer hop-growing techniques to other farms, improve regional economies and meet the needs of microbreweries.
Lawrence Cannon, MP for Pontiac and foreign affairs minister, and Jean-Pierre Blackburn, the minister of state for agriculture, announced the government investment in hop production at Lance's farm about 100 kilometres northwest of Ottawa on Thursday.
Lance said a shortage of hops has forced the price up and made it difficult for some microbreweries to find a reliable supply.
"The basic plan is to help farmers diversify their incomes and help microbreweries," Lance said. "The Quebec microbreweries are looking for a made-in-Quebec product because some growers told them they might not be able to supply them with hops any more.
"There had been a couple of bad years and that created a shortage. Hops had been selling at $4 to $5 a pound and then they went up to $40 or $50. Some big breweries tried to buy up almost all the hops and that left the microbreweries with a big problem."