Randon observation Archives

* 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.

Citra spider chart

Earlier this week, Yakima Chief Hops posted information about a flash sale on Instagram, drawing attention to changes in the way customers may compare hop lots. The details:

“Review the brewing values, sensory characteristics including charts, and grower information anytime via our revamped Lot Lookup Tool. Just input the Lot Number into the tool. You even have the ability to compare HOT LOTS to each other. Enjoy the assurance of knowing exactly the aroma characteristics of your Spot order will be.”

You need to be a customer to use the tool. I am not. [A correction of sorts, and thanks to Max Coleman. Brewers who have a lot number may use the tool.] anybody can get a look at it here. The Instagram post included spider charts for a few lots, including the two posted above.

I originally thought to post this because for too many years I’ve received the occasional email asking, “What happened to [add your favorite hop name]. It is not the same as it used to be.” My catchall answer is that hops are an agricultural product. These charts are proof, but . . .

There is something else to consider. That’s a T90 pellet lot at the top, and a Cryo lot at the bottom. That the T90 lot is quite woody and the Cryo lot not at all woody suggests removing green matter (which happens when hops are cryogenically concentrated) eliminates the woody character found in “old fashioned” hops. Cool. Unless there’s something else in the green matter that might make the beer taste like some of us prefer.

This is not going to turn into a post about the pros and cons of concentrated hop products. Just something to think about. Scott Lafontaine, whose expertise I have leaned on multiple times, will be talking about “Deconstructing the Chemical Composition of a Hop Cone – a 21st Century Fractionation Approach” at the World Brewing Congress in August. Should be interesting.

A final note: These charts represent T90s and Cryo pellets before they are introduced during the brewing process. Biotransformations = change.

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

Two faces of Citra