Champlain Valley Hops

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Starksboro, VT
Champlain Valley Hops

Champlain Valley Hops is a growing hop farm in Starksboro, VT. Our focus: quality and sustainability.

05/28/2026

We’re climbing! On average, bines are about waste high at this point with some over achievers well over our heads. The goal is for all bines to reach the top of the 18 ft trellis by the end of June. After the summer solstice (June 21) the plants will sense that the days are getting shorter and will start focusing more of their energy toward growing side arms and flowers (cones) rather than on vertical growth so these ladies have a lot of work to do in the next few weeks. This Nugget plant looks well trained and up for the task!

05/22/2026

We’re just about done our first training on all our strung acreage. Timing is everything with hop farming. Each variety comes out of the ground at a different time, gets harvested at a different time, and gets trained at a different time. Chinook is typically trained last since it grows the fastest and thus needs less time on the string to reach the top of the trellis. If a variety is trained too early it can take over the canopy and shade out each neighbors, which they don’t appreciate. After first training we go back through a few times to add bines to strings that dont have enough (3-4 is optimal for most varieties) and we can remove bines if there are too many.

05/19/2026

Training time! It’s warmed up over the last week after a usually cold spring and the plants have shown their appreciation. We’ve seen 1-2 ft of growth over the last week and our crew is hard at work getting these bines on the strings.

05/14/2026

All done with stringing for the season! We’re thankful to live and farm in such a beautiful place.

05/08/2026

We’ve been doing some trellis maintenance as we string. These wires shift over time causing the plants to drift with them. We use a come along to tighten wires. A metal bar and a bit of muscle works for getting things back in line.

04/27/2026

This is the time of year to plant new hop rhizomes! Every spring we take cuttings from our current stock and use them to replace any missing plants throughout the hop yard. These babies will focus most of their energy on developing root structure this season but should be fully productive in 2027.

Interested in starting your own hop plants? We’d be happy to sell you some rhizomes! They cost $5/each and can be taken from any of our established varieties. Contact Max ([email protected]) for more info or to place an order.

04/23/2026

CVH is a family affair. This season we welcome Richy (first photo) and his cousin Isaac (orange hat) to the farm! They join Richy’s brother Mao (a four season CVH veteran) and their father Pablo (now in his second season). Richy has an infectious positive attitude that raises the spirits of everyone around him. Isaac is quiet but calculated. He is the youngest of the bunch but wise and responsible beyond his years. Over the winters back home, they enjoy fishing and joining their brother/cousin Mao as he leads evening nature walks through the cloud forests of Costa Rica. We feel lucky and proud to have these guys on our team!

04/20/2026

Meet Felipe! Felipe is a skilled mechanic and has commercial brewing experience in his home town of Monteverde, Costa Rica. This is his first year working at CVH so he has a lot to learn but he’s been fitting in great so far (check out those knot tying skills!). We’re excited to have him as part of the team and look forward to his contributions this season.

04/17/2026

The first week of our 2026 season is underway! New season - new strings! We have an awesome crew with some new and returning faces.

12/02/2025

Max says "Our first Vista crop is spectacular - fruity and sweet!"

Pick up the first crop of Vista grown in Vermont on our store - right now!
Vista is perfect for your next NE IPA!

Address

5459 Route 116
Starksboro, VT
05487

Telephone

+18024480525

Website

https://www.champlainvalleyhops.com/

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