Crop and market update & hop crop 2021 estimate

Hop market |The crop estimate for the Hallertau was announced on August 25st, meaning that crop 2021 estimates have now been submitted for all German hop growing areas.

11th BrewingScience Hop Special - Call for papers

On 17 December 2021, the 11th Hop Special will be published in BrewingScience. Manuscripts can be submitted as of now, editorial deadline is 17 September 2021.

Hop acreage 2018 – 2020

Hop Market | The survey of hop acreage in 2021 is completed. Enclosed please find the comparison of acreage from 2018 to 2021 for the world's main producing areas.

Research and Development - Report 2020

Hops have been known for centuries as a cultivated and medicinal plant. The numerous possibilities of applications in the brewing process and also the use of its antibacterial and even anticarcinogenic properties in completely different areas inspire us and are the driving force behind numerous research and development activities in our group of companies.

Natural hop solution for lightstruck in beer

Natural solution | IFast NV, a biotech company dedicated to the organoleptic and functional properties of food and drinks, has developed an innovative hop-based technology that provides a natural solution to the light taste in beer, also known as lightstruck, and which does not affect the organoleptic (bitter) properties of the beer.

Hop Products Australia completes 2021 hop harvest

Australian crop report | Hop Products Australia (HPA), Australian representative of the Barth Haas group, have completed the 2021 hop harvest. They picked 675 hectares across their three farms, which resulted in 1,526 metric tonnes of hops. This was a 44 hectare (6.9 %) net increase and a 25 metric tonne (1.6 %) decrease year-on-year across the six proprietary varieties Eclipse®, Ella™, Enigma®, Galaxy®, Topaz™ and Vic Secret™ as well as Cascade.

The antimicrobial effects of hops

Technical Support | Hops “keep away certain putrefactions from beverages.” – a statement written by Hildegard von Bingen, in the herbal book “Physica“ from the 12th century [1]. In today’s language, this is equivalent to describing an antimicrobial effect that has been observed for centuries, not only in beer production but also beyond the brewing industry, primarily when gram-positive bacteria must be controlled or inhibited in biochemical processing, as feed additives or food applications.

Update on EBC methods related to craft beer

Technical support | When compared to regular hop addition during wort boiling, late and especially dry hopping make the composition of beer more complex and diverse, which requires additional analytical methods. For this purpose, two new methods are now recommended by the European Brewery Convention (EBC). At the same time, the precision values given for BU (Bitterness Units) measurement have been updated. They now cover also higher ranges as typical to dry-hopped beer.

Czech hop production 2020

Slight decrease | According to the report from the Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture from December 2020, the total hop production reached 5925 tons in the Czech Republic in 2020. The table provides an overview of the hop production in all Czech hop growing regions – Saaz, Auscha and Tirschitz. The average yield for all hop varieties grown in the Czech Republic was 1.19 t per hectare. The decrease in production compared to 2019 was caused by a very dry July and warm August climate together with severe windstorms and hails storms during the vegetation.

Research on downy mildew resistance

Technical Support | Downy mildew in hops, usually called peronospora, is caused by Pseudoperonospora humuli and can lead to considerable losses in quality and yield due to weather conditions. For this reason, Dr. Alexander Feiner conducted a study on resistance to downy mildew in hops as part of his doctoral thesis in cooperation with the IPB in Halle (Saale) and the IPK in Gatersleben.

2020 United States Hop Production Down & Hop Acreage Up

Technical Support | On Dec. 22, 2020, the US Department of Agriculture reported that US hop production for 2020 decreased 7% from last year, yielding 104 million pounds down from 2019’s record yield of 112 million pounds. Acreage increased in Washington by 1388 acres, in Idaho by 910 acres but decreased in Oregon by 202 acres with an overall increase of 3%. Washington State produced 71% of the hop crop, Idaho 17% and Oregon 12%. The overall hop yield per acre was 1,770 pounds down 211 pounds from last year.

Variations in hop aroma depending on crop year

Technical Support | As usual in December, we are pleased to share some data of the hops’ compositions
which is important to achieve consistent hop aroma in beer, especially when changing
from one crop year to another.

Biotransformation to enhance hop flavor and aroma

A new enzyme formulation | Biotransformation is a buzzword nowadays in brewing. It is defined as “the chemical modification made by the interaction of two ingredients used in brewing: yeast and hops”. Brewing yeast produce different enzymes during fermentation that can play a role in biotransformation with the release of aromatic compounds. Lallemand Brewing, Montreal, Canada, in addition to the characterization of its yeast portfolio with regards these specific enzymatic activities, just released ABV Aromazyme, an enzyme preparation with a strong β-glucosidase activity.

BarthHaas: 2020 global beer output may decline up to 14 percent

Germany | Per its modelling, the global supplier of hop products, BarthHaas, estimates that this year global beer output could drop between 8 percent and 14 percent over 2019 because of the covid-19 pandemic.

Yakima Chief Hops showcases new commercial hop Talus

Collaboration with European Breweries | Yakima Chief Hops, Yakima, USA, a 100 % farmer owned global hop supplier, has teamed up with some of the leading breweries across Europe to help launch Talus™ HBC 692, the newly named hop from the Hop Breeding Company, developed in part by Yakima Chief Ranches.

Hop acreage 2017-2020

2020 Crop Report: HPA record a 5.5% increase in hop production volume

Hop Products Australia | After more than a month of cutting, picking, drying, pressing, pelletising and packaging, the numbers are in. Hop Products Australia, North Hobart, Australia (HPA) harvested 631 hectares across its three farms in 2020, which resulted in a production volume of 1,554 metric tonnes.

Hopsteiner Lotus Room IPA – Results

Hopsteiner variety specific hop oils

Technical support | The use of essential oils has long since found its way internationally into the brewing and beverage industry. This can be observed particularly for the essential oils of hops. The numerous technological options in beverage production in principle already enable many product creations with an emphasis on hop aroma.

Hallertau and Tettnang seek volunteers for hop garden work

Germany | With borders closed between Germany and its neighbouring countries since 25 March 2020, hop growers are desperately short of temporary workers from Poland and Rumania for the first of the season’s tasks.

Global hop supplier announces new CEO

A Yakima Valley native | Yakima Chief Hops (YCH), a 100% grower-owned global hop supplier for the craft brewing industry, has introduced Ryan Hopkins as YCH’s new Chief Executive Officer, promoting Hopkins from Chief Sales Officer.

2019 United States Hop Crop & Hop Acreage Report

Hop market | On 18 December 2019, the US Department of Agriculture reported that US hop production for 2019 increased 5% on the previous year, bringing the yield to a record 112 million lbs vs 107 million lbs in 2018.

New Buffalo River Valley processing facility commissioned

Hop Products Australia | Hop Products Australia (HPA), part of the Barth Haas Group, has commissioned their new Buffalo River Valley processing facility on Wednesday 26 February 2020 ahead of the commercial hop harvest this March.

Hopsteiner Lotus

Technical Support | Lotus is one of our latest hop varieties developed under our breeding program to now be commercially available.

Co-Multifidol glucoside in dry-hopped beers

Technical Support | New insights about multifidol glucosides from hops and their contribution to the bitter profile of beer were introduced and discussed in literature recently.

5th International Humulus Symposium: Advancing together

Hop research | The 5th International Humulus Symposium takes place in from 2 to 6 June 2020 in Stuttgart, Germany.

Heinrich Joh. Barth has passed away

Obituary | Heinrich Joh. Barth, for many years a managing partner of Joh. Barth & Sohn, died on December 10, 2019 at the age of 93.

Alpha acid values of hops of the 2019 crop and updated multi-year average values

Hop Analysis Working Group | The 2019 hop harvest is over. The AHA (Hop Analysis Working Group) announces the average alpha acid values as determined in freshly harvested hops.

Fresh hops sent to Korea in just one day

Yakima Chief Hops | According to a press release, the US-based hop supplier Yakima Chief Hops recently exported the largest shipment of freshly harvested hops from the Pacific Northwest to South Korea in just one day for the first time in brewing history.

175 years of the finest hop aroma from Tettnang

Anniversary | In 1844, Charles Goodyear obtained the patent for his process of rubber vulcanization. That same year, Samuel Morse sent the first telegraphic message in his eponymous alphabet from Washington D.C. to Baltimore, and in Munich, an increase in the price of beer sparked riots in the streets. 1844 was also the year in which the first hop farmers convened on Lake Constance to form a group sharing common interests. 175 years ago, they laid the cornerstone for what would become, in its present form, the Hopfenpflanzerverband Tettnang (HPV or in English, the Tettnang Hop Growers’ Association). Since its founding, of course, many things have changed – both in hop farming and also in the work performed by the Hop Growers’ Association. On the occasion of the Association’s 175th anniversary, BRAUWELT International spoke with HPV Executive Director Jürgen Weishaupt about the past, the present and the future in Tettnang.