EMILY HSUEH
ILE DU GRAND CALUMET May 19, 2021
Last Saturday, on a perfect spring morning, several volunteers came together to help prepare a farm field on Ile du Grand Calumet for its next season.
However, they were not tending to livestock or preparing fresh produce; instead they set up rows upon rows of . . .
twine stretching from the ground to wires many feet off the ground. The result looked like a maze of giant spider webs.
At Houblon Grand Calumet, they specialize in growing and harvesting hops. Hops are a type of flower of the humulus lupulus plant, which are used by brewers to flavour beer. They grow three different variations: cascade, glacier and rakau, the latter two of which are in high demand for their bittersweet taste.
The farm is owned by Lisa Lance, her partner Richard Côté and Pierre Fréchette, who is the former mayor of the island and will be vying for the spot again this fall. The trio unveiled their new company earlier this year.
“The goal of the new company is to grow hops, to transform hops into pellets and eventually sell it to different markets, mostly to microbreweries, to smaller independent brewers, and maybe to new markets, one never knows. But the goal is basically to grow and sell the hops pellets,” explained Fréchette.
While Houblon has not been around for long, the farm where they grow their hops has been functioning for several years under a family connection. The farm belonged to Lance’s uncle, who was Fréchette’s brother-in-law. However, the farming life was completely new to Lance and her family. They took over the farm in 2017.
“It’s kind of just new,” Lance said. “We were looking to come back to the Pontiac because I’m originally from Calumet Island and we thought that this would be a good segue into our life here on the island when we decided to move. So we kind of just took it up, no experience.”
While they were getting on their feet, Fréchette was looking to get into the industry as well. Being the brother-in-law of the previous owner of the farm, he had had experience in hops production and wanted to get back into it. With the new management of the farm he used to frequent, he saw his chance.
“Lisa and Richard, being two young [farmers] with a lot of energy and passion for the type of growing that hops requires, I came into the picture to basically solidify our own experiences; me having experience in business and management and whatnot, Lisa with management as well and both of them with agriculture.
“It’s a combination of old and wise and young and dynamic,” he added with a laugh.
When they began tending to the farm they had an honest 2.5 acres but have since doubled in size. This year will be their first full harvest from their full five-acre plot with 5,000 plants, which both Lance and Fréchette are very excited for.
Harvesting hops usually occurs between July and August, and their harvest is sent off to a co-op in Campbell’s Bay, Coopérative de solidarité Houblon Pontiac, to be turned into pellets that can be sold.
“We connected with Todd Hoffman and we’ve been selling a lot to him which is very encouraging, allowing us to support local businesses,” said Fréchette. “There are other beermakers in the region we have yet to connect with and as well, we want to make sure our product is not only in the Pontiac, which is nice, but at the same time that we have more exposure by going to the Outaouais and eventually maybe going to other parts of Quebec and Ontario too.”
While they have their sights set on markets all across the region and beyond, the team at Houblon Grand Calumet will for now focus on growing their business over time and producing the highest quality product they can. They hope their work can put Calumet on the map.
“For the time being, with a reasonable approach and a good vision of what we want to produce — which is basically a quality product — we’ll start with what we have and then eventually grow up,” Fréchette said. “We’re the best hops growers in the region!”
