For the second time in five years, hop production across Europe has tumbled as a result of an intense heat wave and below average rainfall.
– The Association of German Hop Growers estimates they will harvest 33,779 metric tons (about 75 million pounds), compared to 43,141 in 2025. As a result, the industry expects the value of the 2026 crop will fall €80 to €100 million short of expected revenue of about €300 million.
Reacting to shrinking demand for hops worldwide, German farmers strung 5.8% fewer acres in 2026. Lower yields are to blame for most of the 22% drop in production. That mirrors 2022, when farmers harvested 34,406 metric tons.
– The Czech Hop Growers Union estimates production will be down about 25% from 5,207 metric tons in 2025. That works out to about a bit less than 4,000 metric tons and is not as disastrous as the drop from 6,662 MT in 2021 to 3,127 in 2022. The official results of alpha screening by the Czech Chmelarsky Institut show historically low alpha values of 1.8% for Saaz.
– In Slovenia, in addition to the heat repeated hailstorms damaged about half 4,000 acres strung for harvest, with losses in yield between 10% and 100%.
– In Poland, frost damaged hops in some fields at the beginning of the season and the area suffered through the same high heat and low moisture conditions as the rest of Europe.
In Germany the temperature topped 30℃ (86℉) during 45 days. There has not been a heatwave of such duration and intensity in at least 25 years. During the crucial growth period between mid-June until mid-August precipitation at Hüll (in the Hallertau region) amounted to only 105 mm (4 inches), about half the long-term average.
HVG, the German hop cooperative, reported the persistent heat impaired flowering and cone development of the early varieties. For the first time, individual shoots in the upper section of Herkules, which accounts for about half of German production, died back due to the heat, and bines struggled to reach the top of the trellis.
The conditions made the differences between irrigated and non-irragated fields (the latter are more common in Germany) apparent. Heat-resistant varieties such as Polaris and Mandarina Bavaria appeared much healthier and more productive in many locations than numerous classic varieties.