ABOUT US

Nestled in a picturesque corner of Starved Rock Country, Illinois, CL Hop Farms was established in 2015 to provide high quality local hops to craft breweries across the MidWest.

Growing hops successfully in the American MidWest is still a rare thing.  The manual work involved is meticulous, the machinery is expensive and the climate is not the easiest.

We believed the opportunity was there, however, as increasing numbers of craft brewers, specialty crop farmers and, indeed, consumers sought ingredients and products with a connection to the heartland.

Already the largest grower of hops in the state of Illinois we have ambitious plans to grow our acreage further as well as to expand the varieties of hops we grow.

We grow, process and distribute our hops.

Our Mission

• To ensure an availability of high quality hops to the many small and medium-sized craft breweries across the US who depend on them.
• To give Illinois-based breweries access to locally-grown hops, infused with the character and style of the local Illinois terroir.
• To create new opportunities and jobs in farming for our local community.
• To make the rest of the world aware of Illinois hops by selling our crop internationally via the MidWest Hop Alliance.

ILLINOIS MADE

We chose to anchor where two rivers meet, just outside of Ottawa, IL where Illinois’ Fox River and the Illinois River harbor the cliffs along Starved Rock State Park, just 90 miles southwest of Chicago, IL.