Agriculture

By making direct connections with farmers, wherever they are, brewers can improve the quality and variety of hops they get—even at the smallest breweries.

Hop growers face a tough decision every year: What do we plant? Claire Desmarais, sales and marketing manager for CLS Farms in Washington, explains how growers navigate the tricky supply and demand driven by brewers and drinkers.

It’s an immensely complex task, but sensory science and chemical analysis are bringing us closer to understanding the relationship between barley genetics and beer flavor.

Despite early warnings of climate change—with all its potential for volatility and disasters—growers in the Pacific Northwest say they may have a record harvest this year.

Efficiency and the needs of industry have dominated North American barley growing, limiting what’s grown and where. However, independent brewers seeking locally grown options are spurring the development of new, distinctive varieties in unusual places.

Growers, breeders, maltsters, and brewers will need to adapt faster than they have in the past if they’re going to keep up with accelerating change.

In this ongoing series that looks at hop-related issues that will matter to brewers in the years to come, Stan Hieronymus spotlights the need to think ahead when it comes to securing the future of some valued hops from the past.