* Thora
* Hop harvest estimates
* Vera hopped beers honored at GABF
* Fresh hop winners
* Alpha King winners
* Read and listen to this
Welcome to Vol. 9, No. 6. There are plenty of hop varieties out there whose names end in a, but I’m not sure if three have been put forward in the same year. But here we are: Vera, Dolcita and Thora. Getting a name may seem like the end of a journey — after all, Vera resulted from a cross made in 2011, Dolcita one in 2016, and Thora one in 2015 — but, really, this is just the beginning for all of them.
THORA
The Hop Quality Group and the USDA-ARS have revealed the name of the newest hop variety, Thora, and announced that the plant material (that doesn’t sound sexy, but you get the idea) is, like other public varieties, available “for commercial production, research purposes, and the breeding and development and commercialization of new cultivars.”
The name Thora is of Scandinavian origin, derived from the Old Norse name Þóra, which is a feminine form of Þórr, the name of the Norse god of thunder, Thor. (In its native language, Thora is pronounced Thawr-ah, with the emphasis on the first syllable.) Brewers will surely see the potential for incorporating Thora and/or its meaning in new beer names.
Thora is the first variety to emerge from the collaboration between the Hop Quality Group and the USDA public breeding program that began in 2015. The HQG provided funding, its members gave direction to John Henning and Angela Randazzo at the USDA, conducted brewing trials and otherwise participated in every part of the process that led to the release.
Backing up a bit, Henning made 38 crosses for the HQG, that is cross-pollinated females and males of interest, in 2015, producing 30,000 seeds. Those were sprouted in pots in a greenhouse in 2016. Only 600 of those proved to be disease resistant enough to planted in a field in 2017. Following another season, samples from 60 contenders that remained were sent to HQG members to rub and sniff.
They chose 13 to advance, and 20 plants of each potential variety were put in the ground in 2019. Four more of those were eliminated, and in 2020 the nine survivors were mature enough to harvest. They produced between 15 and 35 pounds apiece, and beginning in early 2021 select members produced trial batches of beer.
The HQG had the French laboratory Nyseos, the most advanced facility in the world for evaluating thiols, measure the levels of four sulfur compounds associated with fruity, tropical, exotic aromas and flavors. “Low and behold, the results were phenomenal,” Henning said at the time. “The aromas we were picking out were justified by the thiols.”
HQG2015034-023 — which would later be named HQG4 and eventually Thora — was one of them. Because of the way it stuck out, rising above the others on a chart, it was nicknamed “The Middle Finger.” Thora is particularly rich in 3-sulfanyl-4-methylpentan-1-ol (also known as 3-mercapto-4-methylpentan-1-ol, so 3S4MP or 3M4MP), which can contribute tropical, grapefruit, white grape and rhubarb-like aromas and flavors. It is prominent in the Nelson Sauvin and Hallertau Blanc varieties.
A press release announcing the name notes, “Thora stands out with its intense and complex aroma, bursting with notes of passionfruit, guava, grapefruit, and stone fruit, underscored by resinous and dank undertones.”
It is noteworthy that the press release quotes mostly farmers who have been trialing HQG4 in the field, because one the group’s primary missions it to establish and maintain strong working relationships with hop growers. Their words:
– “Thora is the culmination of over a decade of hard work by the Hop Quality Group to make meaningful change within the hop industry,” said Eric Desmarais, owner of CLS Farms in the Yakima Valley.
– “What makes Thora truly unique is how a collection of brewers have been part of the process from the very beginning, shaping its direction and creating value for both the hop and brewing industries,” said Blake Crosby, CEO of Crosby Hops in Oregon.
– “It’s been exciting to watch this variety prove its potential in both field performance and unique aroma,” said Nate Jackson, owner of Jackson Hops in Idaho.
The Hop Quality Group includes many of the country’s best known hop producers. Some of them already have contracts for future years, and as a group they will be using most of the approximately 13,000 pounds harvested this year. (That’s not a lot of hops. For the sake of comparison. Last year, the Hop Breeding Company commercialized Krush, and this year farmers strung 334 acres. Many of the plants in the ground are babies, but those acres likely produced hundreds of thousands of pounds, perhaps a half million. The number will be available in December.)
Brewers interested in trialing Thora may contact the three farms above. And although they may feel like they are buying a pig in a poke, it is not too early for brewers to think about writing contracts (even small quantities) for the 2026 crop. Each of the farms that have been growing Thora will have 20 mature acres and could expand that.
In addition, farmers anywhere in the country may acquire the plant. But here’s why every new variety starts anew when it is released. Brewers want to get to know a hop before committing to buying significant quantities. Farmers aren’t going to grow something they don’t know they can sell, particularly in the current economic climate. Since I’ve already typed pig in a poke, I might as well go all in and call it chicken and egg time.
Additional reading:
– Three New Hops Emerge into a Competitive Field
– Brewer-Backed Public Hop HQG-4 Nears an Important Milestone
2025 HARVEST ESTIMATES
This is from Hopsteiner. Two years ago, official estimates were all over the map, but Hopsteiner nailed he total. They were just as accurate last year.
Useful conversions: metric ton=2,205 pounds, hectare=2.47 acres. Thus a yield of 2,000 pounds per acre is comparable to 2.24 mt/ha.
Total U.S. production of 80.4 million pounds (36,508 mt) would be the smallest since 2015. Between 2017 and 2023, farmers harvested an average of 106 million pounds per year.
BEST OF VERA
Offset Bier from Utah captured the gold medal in the Vera beer category at the Great American Beer Festival. The parameters were pretty simple: “While not required to be brewed as single hop beers, these beers should highlight the distinctive character of the Vera hop which has been described as tropical, stone fruit, and citrus character, reminiscent of a pineapple flavored life-savers.”
Offset won with a beer called Gooding Farms, a nod to the Idaho farm most of the hops in the beer — including Vera — came from. It is a Session IPA. Offset also won the Session IPA category, with a different beer, for the second year in a row (the 2024 winner was still another beer). Russian River Brewing won the silver medal with RnD West Coast Pils #7. Vera made up 90 percent of the hop load, with a small measure of Thora and a smaller bit of NZ-109. Third place Nothing to Fear from HopSaint Brewing in California was a 6.3% IPA brewed with 100 percent Vera in the whirlpool and dry hop. Sixty-two breweries entered beers.
FRESH HOP WINNERS
** At GABF, Trap Door’s Fresher than Fresh won the Fresh Hop Beer category for the second year in a row. I’m pretty sure I drank much more than a pint of this beer from Vancouver, Washington, during three GABF sessions, where beer is served an ounce or so at a time. Single Hill (Yakima) Six Sisters won the silver, and TapRoom Beer (San Diego) DAMP was third.
** At the Oregon Beer Awards, the winners were:
– Fresh Hop Pale Ales and India Pale Ales: Gold-Breakside Fresh Hop Bayside IPA; Silver-Grand Fir Queens of the Cone Age; Bronze-Sun River Fresh Hop Rippin.
– Fresh Hop Hazy Pale Ales and India Pales Ales: Gold-Bend Keyboard Warrior; Silver-Von Ebert Fresh Hop Sector 7; Bronze-Stormbreaker Set Freshies to Haze.
– Other Fresh Hop Beers: Gold-Ruse Red Rain; Silver-Deschutes Fresh Hop King Cripsy; Bronze-Bend Fresh Hop Oregon Summer Ale.
** There were many winners at the Best of Craft Beer Awards [which sponsors this newsletter] fresh hop competition (early harvest edition).
– Fresh Hop IPA: Gold-Wild Ride Journey to a New Strata-Sphere; Silver-Stoup Fresh Hop Fiend Strata; Bronze-Fort George Fresh IPA.
– Fresh Hop Hazy IPA: Gold-Irrelevant Beer collab w/ Great Notion True Love Waits; Silver-McMenamins St Francis Little Green Bag; Bronze-Varietal Beer SIM.
– Fresh Hop Pale or Hazy Pale: Gold-Trap Door Co-Hop; Silver-Lucky Envelope Strata Hazy; Bronze-Single Hill Oregon Shortcut.
– Fresh Hop Lagers: Gold-Lucky Envelope Lorien Fresh Hop Pilsner; Silver-TapRoom Beer Church of Chill; Zoiglhaus Fresh Hop Super Pils 2.0.
– Fresh Hop Other: Gold- Fort George collab w/ Hop Butcher Fresh Pierogis; Silver- Fortside Fresh Cut; Bronze-Funky Fauna Glee of 1000 Otters.
Expect the late harvest results next month, and perhaps results of the Yakima Fresh Hop Festival (pFriem won best of show) as well.
ALPHA KING WINNERS
Sunriver Brewing from Oregon captured the crown in the Alpha King Challenge last Friday. I was lucky enough to sit at the finals table and Double Whammies was spectacular. It is an 8% ABV, 74 IBU “New Zealand Style double IPA” (their description) hopped with (hold your breath) Helios, Mosaic Cryo, Strata, Nectaron Cryo, Nelson Sauvin, and Nelson Subzero Hop Kief.
Noboat Brewing (Snoqualmie, Washington) Lil’ Sal Imperial Hop Saturated Ale was second, and Hop Dogma Brewing (Half Moon Bay, California) Muka Laka Hiki Intl third.
READ THIS, LISTEN UP
– The Multicultural Roots of the Pacific Northwest Hop Harvest. Three years ago (Vol. 6, No. 4) I linked to terrific story titled “Yakima Valley’s Invisible Workforce” by Jennifer Marion, accompanied by unforgettable photos by Matt Coats. Unfortunately, the link no longer available. This story is an excellent complement, mixing the current with the past.
– Happy Birthday Simcoe. Jamie Bogner at Craft Beer & Brewing interviews Jason Perrault and Vinnie Cilruzo, looking back on 25 years of Simcoe. Be sure to stick around for the discussion about advanced products and foam.
– When brewers meet hop growers. Speaking of the Hop Quality Group, the No Dirt No Flowers podcast hosts Joe Mohrfeld from Pinthouse Brewing in Austin. Calling it a “must-listen for anyone passionate about farming and the future of hops” is pretty bold. But I cannot disagree.
– LiePAs and gold medals. Two podcasts featuring Conor Brown at Offset Bier, which won the Vera beer category at GABF as well as winning gold in Session IPA for the second straight year. From Drink Beer Think Beer and/or Craft Beer & Brewing.