* US harvest report
* Worldwide production
* On the research front
* Funding future varieties
* Additional reading
Welcome to Vol. 9, No. 8. I love this paragraph in The New Brewer (more about the current issue at the end): “The hops, however, were unfazed by the economics. Nourished by abundant summer sunshine inherent to long summer days in a growing season largely absent from extreme heat events or pest pressure, the Pacific Northwest boasted a crop estimated by USDA-NASS at 82 million pounds — a crop with distinctly high oil content and exceptional aromatic quality.”
Economics are important. The Brewers Association anticipates that craft beer sales in 2025 will be down 5 percent, or maybe a bit more, when the final numbers are toted up. That’s not good for hop growers. Based on the global alpha production in 2025, a theoretical brewing potential of 2.1 billion hectoliters beer can be derived (without even dipping into existing inventory). Estimates suggest 2025 production was less than 1.9 billion hectoliters in 2024. That imbalance also is not good for hop growers.
But the paragraph at the top is a reminder hops are going to be hops; that they’ll stretch to the sky when they can and produce cones full of the compounds that help make beer beer.
US CONTINUES TO WORK OFF INVENTORY
Farmers in the Northwest reduced acreage 7% in 2025 and harvested 5% percent fewer hops, according to the USDA National Hop Report. Average yield per acre was the highest since 2011, when higher yielding hops appreciated more for their alpha made up a larger percentage of acres planted. The 2025 value of production was $447 million, up slightly from 2024, but significantly less than $662 million in 2021. That shouldn’t be a surprise, given that acreage has shrunk 31% since 2021 and production 28%.
Perhaps as important, in September the USDA reported that the inventory of hops held by growers, dealers and brewers was 116 million pounds, down 15 percent from the previous year. That’s the largest contraction in 15 years and suggests the market is getting closer to being in balance. Still, it is a significant amount, and almost 40 percent higher than it was through much of the teens.
Overall production in the Northwest states of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington came in a little higher than the August estimate because of the improved yields. Still, the 83.1 million pounds (37,723 metric tons) harvested were fewest since 2015 (78.8 million pounds). Breweries classified as craft (BA definition) produced 24.3 million barrels in 2016, when most of those hops were to be used. Estimated production in 2025 is less than 23 million barrels, and 2026 obviously is unknown.
Make of all those numbers what you will. A few more of note:
Read more
In a press release announcing that the experimental hop previously known at HPA-033 will be called Luna, Hop Products Australia states, “Just like our customers, our hops are big characters. When choosing a name, we like to consider both the hop’s flavour profile and its position in our portfolio. Luna seemed like the obvious choice for a hop that is distinguished by lush mango, dark berry and spicy citrus characters, alongside a high polyphenol content that elevates the flavour profile and mouthfeel.”