• By Mary Jac Brennan
• Posted Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Forsyth County to Host NC-VA Hops Conference

The first annual NC-VA hops conference and beginning hop farmer will be held March 13 & 14, 2015 at the NC Cooperative Extension Forsyth Center, 1450 Fairchild Rd. in Winston-Salem.

Join us for the first regional North Carolina and Virginia Hops Conference with a special pre-conference event for beginning growers. The pre-conference event for beginning hop growers will be held on Friday March 13 from 2:00-6:00 pm with registration opening at 1:00 pm. The conference will convene on Saturday March 14 and runs from 9:00 am until 5:30 pm. Lunch will be served.

Register on Eventbrite (or go to Eventbrite.com and search for NC-VA hops conference). Tickets start at $27.37 for the Friday event and $53.74 for the Saturday conference.

FOR BEGINNING HOP GROWERS: This session will be held on Friday afternoon (March 13) from 2:00 to 6:00 pm with registration opening at 1:00 pm. Learn how to grow hops from experienced growers in the region. Instructors are Rita Pelczar and John Wright of Blue Ridge Hops in western North Carolina and David Goode of Piedmont Hops with hop yards in NC and VA.

THE MAIN EVENT: The conference on Saturday (March 14) is designed to bring together a large number of regional hop growers and brewers to help continue to grow the Southeastern hops industry. Working together we can avoid many frustrations and disappointments and build a strong, vibrant industry. Keynote speaker is Steve Miller, Cornell University hops specialist. Other speakers include experienced growers, local craft breweries, researchers from North Carolina and Virginia, and other industry representatives. Registration opens at 8:00 am with the conference running from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm. Lunch will be served. The Agenda is posted on the Eventbrite page.

Exhibitors: There is room for 15 exhibitors to have tables in the hallways. See the Eventbrite page to register.

Sponsors: We welcome sponsors to help us put on the best conference possible. See the Eventbrite page to register.

Organizers: This event is co-chaired by Jeanine Davis, hops researcher and extension specialist at NC State University and Stan Driver, co-chairman of the Old Dominion Hops Cooperative and owner of Hoot’n Holler Hops.

More Info: Contact Jeanine Davis at Jeanine_Davis@ncsu.edu. Please put “Hops Conference” in the subject line. Or call Jeanine at 828-684-3562.