That was not a fever-induced lupulin dream.
On June 12, Hop Alliance in Michigan really did announce a sale of “everybody’s favorite hops,” making 2021 Citra and Mosaic available for $9.99 a pound and in sufficient quantities to fuel impressively sized batches of even the most aggressively dry-hopped IPA. “We’ve been selling pallets of them,” says Hop Alliance founder Brian Tennis.
“For brewers who are not over-contracted, this is their year,” says Ruthie Dixon, business development and sales manager at Mill 95 in Idaho.
However, that doesn’t mean there has been a paradigm shift.
Heading into the 2023 harvest, the hops that were previously the hardest to get—and those for which brewers often signed long-term contracts—are among the easiest to find. Meanwhile, some varieties that used to be easier to get may be in short supply.
Here are several variables that, as brewers, you ought to consider when planning for 2024 and 2025.