Champlain Valley Hops is Vermont's first large scale hop farm, aimed at providing high quality, aromatic, and flavorful hops to Vermont's local beer scene and beyond. 

On today's show I talk with co-founders Peter Briggs and Julian Post, as well as Sales and Marketing Manager Max Licker. 

Peter Briggs has family roots in Vermont dating back to the mid-18th century, although he's spent most of his life traveling the world working for companies like Citibank and Alvarez and Marsal. While living in Eastern Europe, Peter started to become fascinated with the local hop growers there. Noting the similarities in climate and latitude, he wondered why there weren't more hops being grown in Vermont. That brought him to Vermont hop conferences, where he ultimately met Julian. 

Julian Post is a UVM grad who spent a few years out of college working for UVM agronomist Heather Darby. Eventually he helped her manage her hop research farm in Alburgh, Vermont. This niche position allowed Julian to become one of the most knowledgeable hop farmers in the region, which is what made Peter so curious to meet him. 

The two teamed up,and the rest is history...or, the present. Today, Champlain Valley Hops is putting their first real crop on the market, after three years of bringing their perrenial plants to maturity! That's why we included their newest member to the team in this episode, Max Licker, to talk about how they're bringing their product to market. 

Thanks for watching the show and I hope you leave inspired!