The flower that gives beer its bite can’t get a rest. Once a simple, but necessary, ingredient in beer, hops have become a global crop, a bitter necessity, and subject to scrutiny from growers, brewers, and consumers alike. As the number of breweries in the United States and around the world has grown, so have the acres devoted to hops. While much hoopla is made each year at the harvest, there’s usually a smattering of reports and articles that come out annually warning that the sky is falling, that brewers should brace themselves because there’s going to be a shortage. Like any other crop, hops are susceptible to weather impacts from storms and drought, to threats from pests, and even to over-ambitious contractors whose eyes were bigger than their hop baskets, leading to a surplus.
However, a report released in late January says that the industry has made considerable strides over the past half decade and that while things look good, everyone involved in hops production and usage should proceed “cautiously and pragmatically” when forecasting out the next few years.
A Record Year
History will tell what 2017 will be best remembered for beer-wise, but the hops crop is one contender. According to the Hop Growers of America, the U.S. hops acreage has increased 79.5 percent since 2012; production by 77 percent; and the “average yield per acre jumped to 1,959 pounds per acre, a 14 percent improvement over 2016. The resulting 2017 U.S. hops harvest saw a 20 percent increase over 2016, breaking the 100-million pound mark for the first time in history.”