A Puyallup Hop Grower’s London Cable
Louis Gunter locks in two years of his crop at 25 cents a pound—after sending samples to the London brewer who once employed him in Hamburg.
Louis Gunter, a hop grower of the Puyallup Valley, received a cablegram from a Mrs. Moores, a prominent brewer of London, agreeing to contract the entire hop product of his ranch for the next two years at a flat rate of 25 cents per pound. Ten years ago Mr. Gunter was in the employ of Mrs. Moores at Hamburg, Germany, as head brewer in her establishment there.
Three months ago he sent her samples of the hops grown on his ranch, asking her to contract for next season’s crop, and was surprised to receive the cablegram agreeing to contract for two years. The hop part of the Gunter ranch covers twenty-two and a half acres, producing more than 44,800 pounds. At the price quoted, Gunter will receive more than $11,000 gross per season for the crop.
“Ten years ago Mr. Gunter was in the employ of Mrs. Moores at Hamburg, Germany, as head brewer in her establishment there.”
The Puyallup Valley was once a major hop-growing district, and Washington now ranks among the nation’s top hop producers. Gunter’s transatlantic deal shows how early Northwest farmers were already plugged into global markets—and how one old working relationship could reshape a family operation.
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