An Organic Hop Farm in Southeast Ohio Cultivates New Experiences

Photos by Tanner Pearson

Alexis McCurdy

Fifteen minutes from Athens, in Meigs County, the sun is rising on a 23-acre farm adorned with colorful cabins, filled with an array of organic vegetables and rows of lush hops. In the middle of it all are two men with a passion for farming and connecting with people. Steve Geisler and Casey Buchannan are eager to make the most out of their farm through their products, services and experiences.

The beginnings of Morning Dew Hop Farm can be attributed to a mutual love of the Grateful Dead. Geisler, who graduated from Ohio University in 1995, and Buchannan, who graduated in 2015, met at a chiropractor's office. Geisler was a patient and Buchannan was in the middle of an internship at the office. When Buchannan noticed and commented on Geisler’s Grateful Dead T-shirt, the two instantly hit it off, forming a friendship that would eventually become a business partnership.

With Geisler’s earnings from running multiple food carts and Buchannan’s inheritance, the duo was prepared to venture into business and purchase real estate. It was just a matter of figuring out exactly what they wanted to do. One day, they found themselves at a health food store and noticed a piece of scrap paper on the bulletin board. Hastily scrawled across the note was “Land for Sale,” accompanied by a phone number. Buchannan, initially skeptical, was assured by Geisler that it was a good idea to check out every property they could.

Initially, only five acres of the 80-acre farm were for sale, but Geisler and Buchannan negotiated with the owner to acquire a 23-acre portion, which had more useable land than what was originally offered.

“So, we pulled the trigger and we bought the farm,” Buchannan says. “When we moved out there, it was pretty much like starting from a blank slate. It was an old horse farm, which is good because it didn’t have a bunch of pesticide use, like it would have if it was like a corn farm. The piece of land was relatively untouched and had one small 15-by-15 building on the property, and that was the only thing that was there. The rest was 23 acres of untouched land.”

Noticing the hype for craft beer around the area, Geisler and Buchannan decided to grow organic hops, since it’s a crop that isn’t grown often in the Appalachian region. They reflected on how they would get their feet wet in the craft beer industry and eventually founded the Ohio Hop Growers Guild.

“It’s like basically a support group where you go and you meet with this group and you talk to each other about different farming techniques and different ways you can get the most growing potential out of your hops,” Buchannan says.

From talking about how climate change affects hops, to lending equipment among members, Geisler and Buchannan have found the guild to be necessary to growing their business.

“It’s a really good brotherhood thing of hops growers to share knowledge and equipment,” Geisler says. “We had a question the other day and we just called one of the elder guys and said, ‘Well what about this?’ It’s a good thing. Without those guys, we wouldn’t have amounted to much, because that’s where we find a lot of answers to things.”

Last year, Morning Dew produced 135 pounds of hops, all grown and hand-picked by Geisler and Buchannan. But, that task can prove to be time-consuming and tiresome in the heat.

This year, the two handpicked for a total of 30 hours, before they got a call from Brad Bugerford, the head of hops at the Ohio State Agriculture Extension. As an “experiment,” he told Geisler and Buchannan he’d let them run their hops through his machine that extracts the flower (the useable part of the hops). Normally, he’d charge $100 an hour, but this time he let Geisler and Buchannan use it for free. The machine took an hour to do what Geisler and Buchannan did in 30.

In 2018, Geisler and Buchannan sold all their hops to Little Fish Brewing Company, which resulted in the brewery making a specialty beer with Morning Dew Hop’s name plastered on it. Estate #3 was a farmhouse ale, which typically contains wild bacteria that creates lactic acid in the beer to give it a sour taste. Buchannan describes it as an “enjoyable Warhead flavor.”

A hop from the Morning Dew Hop Farm’s hop vine. Inside the hop is a substance called lupulin, which includes essential oils and acids that give flavors, aromas and bitterness to beer.

This year, although they didn’t sell to Little Fish, Morning Dew is trying to diversify the ways in which it uses its hops. Geisler and Buchannan’s upcoming project is a wooden spa house, featuring hop baths in which guests can soak in a mixture of brewer’s yeast, barley, hops and beer. Afterward, guests will be able to decompress on a hay bed while they wait the required two hours before taking a shower as part of the treatment.

The method has been proven to result in numerous health benefits and has been popular in Eastern Europe for ages. “It’s really cutting edge,” Geisler says. “No one here really does it; they’re mostly in Europe. I mean, there’s one in Chicago, one in Oregon and now there’s one in Virginia, but that’s about it. We’re pretty excited; we just have to figure out how to do it. Nobody will tell us how to do it. We’ve called asking about how to do the mixture, because you can’t just pour beer in the tub.”

Other than figuring out the mixture, Geisler and Buchannan are also having trouble finding someone to build the tubs which would hold the bath mixture. Despite those setbacks, they remain optimistic about their projects and have talked to people from the Athens Do-It-Yourself Shop, a local home-brewing business specialized in helping people brew their own selections. The shop has said that it will let Geisler and Buchannan come in and brew batches for their baths and has also shown interest in buying Morning Dew’s hops for other customers to use in their brewing processes.

Geisler and Buchannan recently broke ground on construction for the spa house and hope to have most of the building complete by the winter. They also hope to possibly produce hop pillows, which produce a smell that is supposed to serve as a sleeping aid, which will be available for purchase.

The spa is not the only hospitality initiative in the works at Morning Dew. So far, the farm has two cabins that are used as Airbnbs. The Fairy House was designed to be reminiscent of a dollhouse, decorated with intricate details. It features two double beds, cable television, Wi-Fi and a full bath. The Lupulin House was painted the same bright yellow color as lupulin powder, a sub-product of hops that gives them their bitter flavor.

A third Airbnb, The Dream House (painted a light purple), is currently under construction for guests. Geisler and Buchannan reside there for the meantime. The plan is to build a loft above the spa house as a place of residence, so they can fully rent out all of their cabins.

Geisler and Buchannan say that, while they enjoy farming, it’s not very lucrative. They’re hoping the Airbnbs will become their main source of income for the fall when hops are not in season.

“It’s interactive; it’s a good talking piece. It’s a good draw, but we only made $800 from the hops, and we can make that in a good weekend of the Airbnb,” Geisler says. “All summer in the hot sun or one weekend of flipping beds and washing sheets. But it all meshes together. Without the hops, people wouldn’t come so much. People really come there because they see it’s a farm-stay type thing. We let some people pick vegetables the other day for free. I said, ‘Pick whatever you want and take it with you.’ It’s fun. We know it doesn’t pay that big on agriculture.”

For people who come to visit the farm, Geisler and Buchannan give tours of the property and showcase their apiary as well. Geisler explains it as a treat for the “city people.” Morning Dew frequently welcomes OU visitors as well. Classes like Food Matters take field trips out to the farm for learning purposes. Sometimes, Geisler and Buchannan will even host parties at the farm, serving beer — some made with their own hops and some not. They also employ OU students as interns. The intern chooses what they do at the farm, Buchannan says.

“We like to let the student figure out what work they want to do and try to make it as beneficial as possible for both parties,” Buchannan says. “We structure it so we get something good out of it and they get knowledge and a good experience they can take with them into the next part of their lives. Then, we give them a really good reference.”

The internships are normally announced via social media, or occasionally Buchannan will go into classes and pitch the available opportunities. Once the student decides he or she wants to intern at Morning Dew, the student will meet with his or her adviser and have the internship approved. For every 40 hours of work the intern completes at Morning Dew, they’ll receive one course credit.

Morning Dew also has Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWOOF) volunteers come out occasionally. WWOOF is an organization that pairs volunteers with organic farmers to promote cultural and educational experiences. Volunteers are required to work four hours a day and get their meals and housing provided. At Morning Dew, WWOOF volunteers stay for an average of two weeks.

In between the lapses of volunteers and interns, Geisler and Buchannan find ways to keep Morning Dew self- sustained. Finding success in such a short amount of time, Geisler and Buchannan are even more excited to see how their business expands from here.

“We’re pretty happy with where we’re at,” Geisler says. “Everyone we talk to about what we’re doing ... they say, ‘Oh, those are nice dreams.’ But no, they’re all happening.”

While Geisler and Buchannan relish in the success they’ve amassed thus far, they know there’s plenty of room to flourish.

“We’re still trying to figure it out,” Buchannan says. “But we’re growing organically, so we’re letting our business grow slowly and naturally and the amount of success so far has been a good amount.”