Nikola Matic

Nikola Matic
Hometown: Cleveland Thompson, Ohio
College: Allegheny College

Nikola originally had the idea of starting a commercial hop farm in Northeast Ohio after spending some time working at the vineyards a short drive away in Madison, Ohio. While watching many tourists come in and out of the vineyards, drinking wine and taking pictures he thought it was strange that there was no agriculture involved in the booming craft beer industry. After doing some research on hop farms he was struck by the beauty and thought it was something Ohioans should be exposed to and brewers had the right to experience. His brother Luka and him drove to the state of Washington, and stayed there for a month examining different hop farms, taking notes on trellis structure, soil, irrigation, harvesting, and other processes. They learned that 77% of the nation’s hops are grown in the Yakima Valley of Washington. This is because after alcohol prohibition there where only 4 breweries allowed to produce beer so they all purchased their hops from the same source.