Hop Harvest Beer Tour Gives Rare View into Harvest Season

For hop heads, the months of September and October become a palate-testing quasi-holiday.

Many breweries are releasing their hop-heavy beers this time of year as the hop harvest has come to fruition. Of the four main ingredients in craft beer, none boast the rabid following of hops, or humulus lupulus. West Michigan Beer Tours, in collaboration with JW Marriott Grand Rapids and Hop Yard of Kent County, will showcase some of the adventurous flavors of the season with the Hop Harvest Beer Tour on Saturday, Aug. 5.

The tour takes place near the peak of hop harvest season when farms are in full picking and processing mode. It will begin with registration from noon to 1 p.m. at the JW Marriott, where guests are encouraged to order a drink and lunch at the Six.One.Six. The bus will depart at 1 p.m. with visits to Rockford Brewing Co., the Hopyards of Kent County — the family-owned hop farm in Greenville — and Gravel Bottom Craft Brewery & Supply in Ada.

Guests will receive a pint or samples,

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