Stan Hieronymus

While the numbers are far from final, there were modest steps toward rebalancing the market for U.S. aroma hops. Centennial and Simcoe had a rough year, while rain helped Germany and Czechia avoid a second consecutive disastrous harvest.

The art of hop blending is getting a nudge from science. Research from Great Britain and Japan identifies hops and compounds that work better when they’re together—and they can also simulate the profiles of more sought-after varieties.

Growers have reduced acreage, but that’s only part of a complex story. As the 2023 harvest approaches, balancing the market means reducing surpluses and figuring out how to do a better job of measuring true demand.

As small-scale brewers warm up to products once viewed as industrial shortcuts, the options continue to widen, and knowledge about how best to use them only deepens.

In a market with no room for error, neither is there room for avoidable off-flavors—including diacetyl and other issues caused by hop creep. Research continues into its causes and how best to avoid or eliminate it before beer leaves the brewery.

The 2022 harvest in Central Europe was historically bad, but the Pacific Northwest also had an off-year, with aromas of many varieties more muted than usual. Here’s how to make adjustments so you can brew the best beer from what you’ve got.

Last year’s disappointing harvests in Czechia and Germany were marked not only by substantially lower yield, but also by lower alpha-acid content, among other differences. Here’s the context and what you need to know to make adjustments in the brewhouse.

Many hop growers are cutting back on acreage this year, aiming to re-balance supply and demand while a large surplus sits in inventory. Here is some context on the situation and what it will mean for brewers.

Welcome to “Searching for Thiols: Season 6.” The plot is getting more complicated, but it includes looking beyond hops to find more thiols to pack into beer, developing new yeast strains, and reconsidering practices both in the brewhouse and on the farm.

Hop harvest in the Southern Hemisphere begins soon. In this second of two reports on what’s new with hops down South, we focus on three distinct regions: Australia, South Africa, and Argentina.