About Us

Sky High Hops is a family owned and operated hop yard established in 2015 located at Sage Hill Farm in Flemington, NJ.  We supply fresh hops to breweries, cideries, distilleries, and homebrewers looking for a sustainably grown, premium quality product.  In addition to beverages, our hops are regularly featured in floral arrangements, dishes at local restaurants, and other products including BBQ rubs and candles. Our hop yard consists of several varieties totaling roughly 600 plants headed into their 8th growing season.

CONTACT

Anthony Verdi
(908) 303-7507
anthony@skyhighhops.com

Location

Sage Hill Farm
1069 River Avenue
Flemington, NJ 08822

Hours

Appointment Only

Jersey Fresh

The Jersey Fresh Quality Grading Program (JFQGP) of the New Jersey Division of Agriculture (NJDA) was created in 1985 as a method of connecting consumers with New Jersey grown commodities by providing marketing advantages to farmers who cultivate the highest quality products.

The program boasts a guarantee that any product labeled with the Jersey Fresh logo meets or exceeds US No. 1 standards.  Sky High Hops is proud to be the first hop yard in the program, piloted cooperatively with NJDA to ensure only quality products reach your glass.

Look for local breweries that feature our hops.  Chances are that beer will be registered as "Made with Jersey Fresh".  For more information on JFQGP or our involvement with the program, visit https://findjerseyfresh.com/go/sky-high-hops/

Growing Hops in NJ

Soil and Sun

A great crop starts with the right soil. We regularly test our soil pH and nutrient content to determine the appropriate amendments. Our yard receives several offseason applications of our farm-sourced composted organic horse manure for nutrient and microbe replenishment.

Our yard is naturally equipped to prevent plant disease thanks to our soil drainage efficiency, exposure to sunlight, and air flow.

Water, Fertigation, and Pest Management

Our drip irrigation system is supplied directly from our well which draws water from the underlying bedrock aquifer 250+ feet below ground surface.  Our well provides a mineral rich, virtually untouched supply of water. The system is adjusted regularly to account for weather conditions, ensuring our plants receive the right amount of water.

For midseason applications, our fertigation system allows us to evenly and thoroughly distribute fertilizer.  We closely monitor field conditions and test our soil several times per year to determine if any adjustments are necessary.  Making sure plants receive the right amount of food and water is crucial for growth and development.

We at Sky High have instituted an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program to eliminate any threats to the well being of our plants.  IPM processes effectively maintain an environmentally sensitive approach while also remaining economically sustainable and conscious of human and animal health and safety.

Harvesting, Drying, and Processing

After transporting a trailer full of freshly cut hop bines to our processing area, the bines are manually loaded into our custom designed and constructed hop harvester. The harvester uses picking fingers to separate cones and leaves from the bines and a system of conveyor belts to sort the cones from the leaves.

The first level of hops product is wet hops. When wet hops are purchased, they must be picked and used for brewing within the same day. This requires some coordination with the brewer, but the result is worth the additional effort.

Hops that are not sold wet are dried using our custom designed and constructed oast. The oast uses a PID temperature controller, tubular heater, and high speed fan to dry the cones to the desired moisture content for storage and further processing.

Our hammer and pellet mills allow us to complete the farm to glass process by shredding and packing the whole leaf hops into brewer-preferred pellets which allow for a longer shelf life, a condensed product for easier packaging and storage, and a product that soaks up less moisture during brewing.

CONTACT

For all hops related inquiries, call (908) 303-7507 or email anthony@skyhighhops.com.

For candles or events, please reach out to samantha@skyhighhops.com.