What's Hoppening to Hops?

The Federal government just concluding their report for the 2011 Hops Crop and confirmed that production was down again. As you may be aware, hops are an important ingredient for brewing beer in that they assist with a bittering flavor and also the aroma.  


The State of Washington grows nearly 80% of all the hop crop in the USA and primary hop varieties include Cascade, Super Galena, Zeus, and Columbus/Tomahawk. These four account for 49% of Washington's output.  Oregon is another important producer of our hops, especially for supplying Nugget and Willamette.  Idaho rounds out our states with a focus on hop growers, as the third largest supplier.  Although Idaho's production of hops was actually up (nearly 10% to 5,454,100 pounds) , the fact that Washington (51,310,000 pounds) and Oregon (over 8million pounds) were down created a decline in the over all USA production.  Note, the total USA hop production for 2011is 64,781,600 down from 2009 at 94,677,900 and 2010 at 65,492,600 pounds.


Although the decrease from last year to 2011 was only down 1%, it is down significantly from 2009 and the trend for 2012 is forecasted to once again be down.  We believe this is a result of more profitable corps being substituted for hops, some of which are actually being grown for alternative energy. Most of the breweries will contract out a year of two to confirm a steady supply of hops.  Homebrewers might be wise to buy their favorite hops now, while inventories are in good shape.  Hops, maintained in an airtight container in the freezer will stay fresh for 12-18 months.

Note: the five most popular hop varieties for USA brewers include Cascade at #1, Centennial, Willamette, Chinook, and at #5 is Goldings.