Queries 8.08: Cascade, Citra, Saaz and the hop market; plus a job listing

* 2024 hop report
* Cascade, Citra & Saaz
* Hop breeding work
* When hops smelled different
* NZ hop awards
* BarthHaas grants
* Hop profile: Strata

Welcome to Vol. 8, No. 8. The first thing I did Friday when the USDA released the 2024 Hop Report was total up how many pounds of Citra farmers reported harvesting. I mentioned earlier this year that it seemed Czech Saaz production might surpass Citra. It did, probably. When I posted the numbers at Bluesky, there was a comment, “2025 the year of the lager.” I’m all for that idea, and it would be great for farmers if there were surging demand for any variety of hops, but this is part of an ongoing story about oversupply. I’ll be happy when that quits taking up so much space here.

THIS YEAR, ACREAGE REDUCTION WORKED

The news was not exactly news. Farmers in the Northwest states of Idaho, Oregon and Washington reduced acreage 18 percent from 2023 and production was down 16 percent. It fell from 104 million pounds to 87 million pounds. That’s the largest reduction since between 2010 and 2009, that a result of massive overproduction because of a short-term supply shortage. Then, production tumbled from 94,677 pounds to 65,492.

Last January, John I. Haas CEO Tom Davis told attendees at the American Hop Convention, “We think 10,000 acres of [aroma varieties] have to come out with ’24. We took out 9,000 acres last year and it didn’t dent surplus, and that’s what is the painful part for all of us here. We have grown an industry very large, but it was more than it needed to be.”

Despite reducing acreage in 2023, growers harvested 104 million pounds, compared to 102 million in 2022. Although average yield per acre crept up in 2024, in part because higher yielding alpha hops now account for a larger percentage of acreage, the reduction probably means farmers harvested fewer pounds of hops valued for their aroma than brewers actually used.

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Queries 8.07: Remember Delta, Sylva, Ultra, Santium, Banner or Smaragd?

* Introducing Erebus
* Random observation: Hops and health
* Hop profile: Mistral
* Recipe: Old World’s Mantra
* Additional reading

Welcome to Vol. 8, No. 7. In the current (Nov/Dec) issue of The New Brewer, I posed the question, “Remember Delta, Sylva, Ultra, Santium, Banner or Smaragd?” The point of asking the question in a story about newly named cultivars, or ones that may earn a name, is that it is not always obvious which will endure. They are going to keep coming, and sustainability is going to continue to be more important.

“If we don’t do this, somebody will,” said Ben Smith at B&D Farms, one of five farms that are partners in West Coast Hop Breeding. “Everybody out there breeding (hops) is doing some good. We are going to solve problems.”

On the flip side, right now I’m working on a story for Brewing Industry Guide about a variety that was released more than a century ago. It was a high impact hop, and in more than one way, before anybody talked about high impact hops. More after the story is published.

HOPSTEINER NAMES A ‘BOLD DISRUPTOR’

It might be just me, but as I noted at HopQueries.com on Oct. 31, it seems appropriate that Hopsteiner chose Halloween to announce that a cultivar previous known as HS16660 will be called Erebus, the primordial deity of darkness in Greek mythology. A press release states, she “embodies the essence of its chaotic origins, serving as a bold disruptor to the world of hops.”

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A new hop for Halloween

Hopsteiner gives HS16660 a name: Erebus

It seems appropriate that Hopsteiner chose Halloween to announce that a cultivar previous known as HS16660 will be called Erebus, the primordial deity of darkness in Greek mythology. A press release states, she “embodies the essence of its chaotic origins, serving as a bold disruptor to the world of hops.”

Brewers may instead focus on the blueberry, citrus, candied fruit and floral/rose character the hop provides. She contains 8-11% alpha acids, 3-4% beta acids and 2.3-2.8 ml/100g essential oil (including an usually high amount of geraniol).

Erebus is Hopsteiner’s third release — along with Helios and Alora — in three years. All three benefit from research identifying genetic markers. The company’s breeders used those markers to select multiple disease resistant traits, resulting in stacked resistance. Because the plants have multiple layers of protection from mildews, the amount of chemical fungicide applications required to protect them is reduced.

Queries 8.06: ‘A little more to learn here’

* Hunting for esters
* Dip hopping
* Hop profile: Saaz family
* Additional reading

Welcome to Vol. 8, No. 6. The fresh hop festivals have come and gone, but plenty of fresh hop beers remain. Check out the results of the Best of Craft Beer Awards fresh hop competitions.

ISOBYTYRATES, HEXANOTES AND OTHER GOOD STUFF

There were many takeaways from a presentation at the World Brewing Congress titled, “Chemical and Sensory Evaluation of Hop Varieties: Insights into the Relationship Between Aroma Properties and Growing Regions.” Marcus Ojeda, an R&D chemist at Abstrax Tech, headed up the research behind the presentation, and when Ojeda couldn’t be in Minneapolis for the conference, Tom Nielsen stepped in to talk attendees through the PowerPoint.

Nielsen worked 20 years at Sierra Nevada Brewing and was research and development and raw materials manager before he left in February to join Abstrax Tech as director of brewing and beverage innovation. Abstrax Tech is known first for its botanically derived terpene blends and isolates that are native to cannabis. The company added a Hops Division last year.

The project was Ojeda’s first foray into hop chemistry. “It is interesting how he is characterizing hops, coming from a cannabis mind,” Nielsen said. For instance, Abstrax has developed an aroma spectrum, spanning exotic to savory, which Ojeda overlaid it onto hops. “A new way to show things,” Nielsen said.

Bottom line, I’m looking forward to Abstrax sharing more research. For now, there is this chart.

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Queries 8.05: Fresh hop festivals, a bitter reminder & Peacharine

* Temperature and thiol biotransformation
* Bitterness has an altitude problem
* CGX Fresh Hops
* Fresh hop festivals
* Hop profile: Peacharine
* Additional reading

Hops bound for cooling floor at Carpenter farms.

Welcome to Vol. 8, No. 5. Harvest in the Northern Hemisphere is at full throttle. My Instagram feed if stuffed with photos from every angle of harvest. This one from @carpenterhops in the Yakima Valley is particularly striking.

FREEING THIOLS, BUT TO WHAT END?

Researchers from Oregon State University and Lallemand Brewing presented information at the 2024 EBC Congress and Brewers Forum in France that showed a strong correlation between increasing fermentation temperature and free thiol formation. The results also remind brewers that free thiols alone do not necessarily produce the most fruity, citrus, and tropical-flavored beers.

The research examined the performance of five commercial yeast strains at three temperatures (15°C, 22°C, 30°C/59°F, 71.6°F, 86°F). Pale ales were hopped with 1.2g/L of Cascade at the start of kettle boil and 3.0 g/L of Cascade in the whirlpool. They were not dry hopped.

They measured the levels of 3-sulfanylhexan-1-ol (3SH) and 4-methyl-4-sulfanylpentan-2-one (4SMP). Those increased with temperature across all yeast strains. LalBrew Diamond lager yeast produced the highest overall concentrations of both thiols. LalBrew Nottingham and London ale strains showed the greatest changes with temperature. LalBrew Verdant IPA and BRY-97 showed less change in thiol concentrations with temperature.

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