Hop Harvest

Has the fresh fish on the menu been frozen? More drinkers may be asking the same about their fresh-hopped beers—and when it comes to the hot side versus cold side “feud,” there may be bigger fish to fry.

Making the harvest trip to the Northwest is nice, if you can swing it, but hop merchants are widening the opportunities for smaller breweries to select lots. First, however, know the profile of the hops you want.

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.

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.

Northern Hemisphere harvests are down, with Saaz hit the hardest. Weather disruptions are on the rise, and so are costs, making long-term planning essential. In the short-term, it may be a year of substitutions—especially for lagers.

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.

Last year’s wildfires had an unforeseen effect on the 2020 hop crop. The phenols involved have low volatility and high solubility, which means they transfer easily from hops to beer. Here’s what you need to know.

Collaborators on a storage-and-shipping experiment report that a special produce container preserved fresh, unprocessed hops for six weeks—and it may work for longer.

Labor Day windstorms damage up to 5 percent of Yakima Chief’s remaining crop in Washington and Idaho, with the response complicated by wildfires and apple harvest.