In the 1940’s and 1950’s the upper end of California’s Central Valley was alive with the growing and processing of hops, utilizing trellises made from large, old-growth redwood stakes.Weathered on the outside, these hops stakes (4” thick x 4” wide x up to 18’ long) served as massive supports for the vine-like hops plants, which grew in 20’ long ropes.

Once re-milled, the stakes offer a fine grade of all-heart redwood of a quality virtually unavailable on the new-wood market.

Hops fields once covered tens of thousands of acres of California’s fertile Central Valley. Factories sprung up to process the fragrant, sticky buds and buyers from breweries around the United States came to purchase raw materials in response to the nation’s growing thirst for beer.

During this same time, the famed redwood forests of the California coast were being cut down at a rapid – and in hindsight, heartbreaking – pace to fuel a booming, post-World War II economy. The rot-resistant wood was perfect for trellises, factories and even railway lines used to transport the hops from the field. These days, hops production has been mostly replaced by other crops in the Valley – what remains is the dense-grain, old-growth redwood from the glory days.

Redwood’s legendary rot-resistant properties make it an ideal wood for exterior siding applications. It’s renowned beauty also make it refined enough for interior applications.