* Hop scientist reinstated
* Ask the farmers
* New Zealand harvest
* Case study: Mad Mole and hops
* Hop profile: Nectaron
* Wait, there’s more
Welcome to Vol. 8, No. 12. This wraps up eight seasons of Hop Queries. Thanks for hanging around, and putting up with head-scratching subject lines. The answer to the question at the top is that they are among the core hops at Mad Mole Brewing in North Carolina. More below.
HOP SCIENTIST BACK AT WORK
Two USDA-ARS employees involved with public hop research were among thousands of probationary employees who went back at work after the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) issued a 45-day stay on their termination (see Hop Queries Vol. 8, No. 10). Francisco Gonzalez, a hop horticulturist, is one of four scientists central to the public hop research program. Brandon Sandoval is a technician assisting Gonzalez.
Since Gonzalez began building out the Hop Stress Physiology Lab at Washington State University’s Prosser worksite in 2022, USDA-ARS invested more than $1.6 million in the project and industry members contributed another $300,000. The laboratory that he built and his experimental hop yard would have sat empty had his job not be reinstated. The primary objectives for his research are “to understand hop responses to abiotic stress, mitigate crop damage from abiotic stress by developing improved production methods, and contribute to the identification of stress-tolerant cultivars and germplasm.”
That’s not to say that things are “back to normal” at research facilities in Oregon and Washington. Not all support staff has returned to work and what happens after a hiring freeze lifted is not clear. Also, the USDA has warned employees that a significant reduction in force is likely.
STAYING IN THE LUPULIN
Were I attending the Craft Brewers Conference later this month I would have no problem filling three days talking hops with vendors on the trade show floor, various hospitalities showcasing hops in beers, and at evening social events. But I would also make time for the May 1 panel discussion, called Staying in the Lupulin, including growers and distributors.
Dianne Gooding from Gooding Farms in Idaho, Eric Desmarais from CLS Farms in Washington, and Blake Crosby from Crosby Farms in Oregon will be joined by Tim Sattler and Lee Rottweiler from Yakima Quality Hops. It seems as if low visibility when it comes to hops supply/demand is even lower in April than it was in February. Staying in the Lupulin gives brewers and opportunity to talk directly with farmers and merchants.
Farmers may also be found in and around the Hop Growers of America booth (#3823). The HGA will have five cultivars (three waiting for names) to rub and smell, then taste in single-hop beers from Stone Brewing. The hops are Pink (Jackson Hop Farm), Tangier (Segal Ranch), HQG4 (Hop Quality Group), W1108-333 (USDA) and 2001006-084A (USDA).
MORE CUTS IN NEW ZEALAND
Clayton Hops has produced its first harvest report, which provides estimates for acreage and production in New Zealand. The government does not aggregate an official report, and Clayton acknowledges their estimates may differ plus or minus 15 percent from the numbers we would see were there a consolidated report.
Clayton Hops harvested about 1,000 acres in 2025, which they calculate is 40 percent of New Zealand acreage. They put country-wide production at 3.1 million pounds, down from 3.9 million in 2024 and 4 million in 2023. For perspective, after two years of serious acreage reduction, farmers in the US Northwest harvested 87 million pounds in 2024.
About 40 percent of New Zealand production is Nelson Sauvin, or 1.25 million pounds. (More perspective: US farmers harvested 1.5 million pounds of Eureka in 2024. Not a hop many brewers talk about.) Motueka accounts for 25 percent of acreage, Nectaron 15 percent, Riwaka 10 percent, and the rest 10 percent.
Read the complete report here.
CASE STUDY: MAD MOLE
Last month, I wondered out loud how many hops a brewery needs in its portfolio. Mad Mole Brewing operations manager Dano Ferons not only provided a list, but also interesting details about how the Wilmington, N.C., brewery dry hops their beers.
They keep eight hops on hand for their core beers: Citra, CTZ (for bittering), CZ Saaz, Hallertau Tradition, Loral, Mosaic, Saphir and Simcoe.
They have used 48 other varieties with varying degrees of success (most purchased on the spot market). The hops they have had the most success with are Amarillo, Nectaron, Galaxy, Vic Secret, Nelson Sauvin, Pacifica and Belma. Ferons tries to bring in a new hop every quarter to provide something different (for instance, Superdelic fall of 2024, and Peacharine summer of 2025).
Mad Mole has a 7-barrel brewhouse with five 7-barrel, one 15-barrel and four 30-barrel fermentation tanks, along with two 30-barrel lagering tanks and 3 brite tanks. They produced 1,700 barrels of beer in 2024, the majority being New England/Hazy IPAs, followed by lagers.
They offer a rotating NE IPA almost every week. Those are typically seven-barrel batches (occasionally 15s) and will sell out within the week. “Since we are constantly putting out different NE IPAs the goal is to have each one be unique. My worst fear is for someone to come back and say two of our beers tasted the same,” Ferons writes. This is where the 48 other varieties come in.
They dry hop beer with a Hop Doser that was envisioned, built and patented by one of the owners. It attaches to the dry hop port and has a gear box inside that can be set to a timer. The Hop Doser holds 12 pounds of T90 pellets and the timer will allow those pellets to be added over the course of five days.
“This has improved the contact time of the hops and drastically increases haze and haze retention,” Ferons writes. “We typically add 33 pounds of hops in seven barrels, and do the first two additions for two to four hours each, with the third addition overnight. The following morning, the Hop Doser will be removed and a spunding valve will be added. The added pressure submerges the hop raft for full utilization. This method makes a super fragrant beer that carries the nose and flavor while reducing our hop usage by 25 percent.”
However, Ferons says, there is a downside. “We only get the dominant flavor(s) from the hops, losing some subtlety and terroir” For example: Citra = orange with some mild dank character, Hallertau Mittlefrüh = floral, and Nelson Sauvin = white wine grapes.
HOP PROFILE: NECTARON
Four years ago, I suggested that there were three contenders for Hop Rookie of the Year: Nectaron, Eclipse and Talus. Based upon acreage planted, Nectaron is “winning.”
According to Clayton’s estimates, New Zealand strung about 340 acres of Nectaron this year. Farmers in Washington harvested 377 acres of Talus in 2022, and Oregon growers 46 more. However, Washington acreage shrunk to 95 last year, and Oregon’s was not reported. Australian farmers grew 72 acres of Eclipse in 2024.
NZ Hops broke with its protocol in 2020 — using place names such as Waimea and Taiheke — in commercializing the experimental known as Hort 4337. Calling it Nectaron combines “nectar of the gods” with the name of New Zealand’s longtime breeder, Ron Beatson, who since retired.
Heritage: Nectaron and Waimea are sisters, resulting from a cross made in 2004. Waimea was commercialized first because of she is higher in alpha acids (16-19%). They are both of English (Fuggle), continental (Saaz) and American (Cluster) heritage. Beatson believes that the development of triploid Cluster males has helped set New Zealand hops apart.
The basics: 10.5-11.5% alpha acids, 4.5-5% beta acids, 1.7 mL/100 grams total oil. Rich in the compounds Yakima Chief Hops has identified as “survivable,” particularly geraniol.
Aroma qualities: An intense combination of citrus and stone fruits; peach, passion fruit, grapefruit, and pineapple.
ADDITIONAL READING & LISTENING
Mac Hops celebrates 125 years. And you can also listen to Brent McGlashan talk about that in a podcast (up next).
New Zealand hop harvest. Jamie Bogner at Craft Beer & Brewing has posted four hop-related podcasts recorded during harvest in New Zealand.
How USDA ARS Funding Affects Your Brewery. MBAA podcast with Alicia Adler (Hop Research Council), Ashley McFarland (American Malting Barley Association), Scott Dorsch (Odell Brewing brewer/agronomist).
No Dirt, No Flowers. Second episode. This is one link, but you should be able to find it wherever you listen to podcasts.