Hop Notes 06: Hop Crop Reports from across the US.
Expert analysis to help you make better hop decisions.
The 2023 American hop harvest will kickoff any day now. Large temperature swings in the PNW have pushed some varieties into early flowering cycles, some farms will be starting to harvest as soon as next week. Certainly by this time in the growing season farmers have a good idea of the trajectory of their yards; where yields might land and which varieties are standing out.
Hop Notes 06 features 12 crop reports from 12 farms from 12 states. Their answers are provided verbatim. These farms vary in size from less than an acre to many, many more. They are located from sea to shining sea. I encourage you to explore these farms’ stories more on your own.
Farmer Crop Reports - listed alphabetically by farm name
45th Parallel Hops - Andrew Walawender - MI - 22 acres
How did the spring season go on your farm?
“Great”
How are you feeling about this year’s yield potential?
“Great”
Are any varieties looking especially strong this year?
“Fuggle looks amazing”
What is one thing you wish all brewers knew about hop farming?
“How much love goes into EACH plant.”
Billy Goat Hop Farm - Audrey Gehlhausen - CO - 32 acres
How did the spring season go on your farm?
“We had a difficult time finding labor. Because of that it took longer than usual and some plants were a bit late going up. It was a very wet and cool spring, and the weeds were as aggressive as we've ever had them. Lots of weeding.”
How are you feeling about this year’s yield potential?
“Not as good as last year, but better than the previous couple years.”
Are any varieties looking especially strong this year?
“Comet and Chinook”
What is one thing you wish all brewers knew about hop farming?
“There are far more moving parts than one might image - Finding labor twice a season, fertilizers, pests and disease control, cleaning the drip irrigation, conveyor belts, single phase and 3 phase electricity, highly specialized pickers,HVAC, large cold storage capacity, shipping boxes and labels, lab analysis, marketing emails, sales calls, social media, payroll.... and that's just the obvious things.”
Champlain Valley Hops - Max Licker - VT - 35 acres
How did the spring season go on your farm?
“We had a cold and dry spring, which got the plants off to a slow start but everything has since caught up.”
How are you feeling about this year’s yield potential?
“We are hoping for our highest yields to date. We are still a young farm (planted three generations from 2018-2020) and are constantly working on improving our farming practices and adapting to growing conditions in Vermont.”
Are any varieties looking especially strong this year?
“Crystal and Chinook have looked {great} this season. They were the first plants to reach the top of our 18 foot trellis. Everything looks very healthy at this point and we hope it stays that way. Our soil type is a sandy loam and has drained well despite the recent record rains in our state.”
What is one thing you wish all brewers knew about hop farming?
“All hops will have different characteristics based on the environment they are grown in and the people that {grew} them. We wish that brewers would embrace these nuances rather than demanding a homogenous product and heavily marketed proprietary varieties that come from one small region of the country.”
CLS Farms - Claire Desmarais - WA
How did the spring season go on your farm?
“A strong snowpack from the winter led to an ample water supply, which is important as we head into warmer days reaching 100ºF. We expect to begin harvest on time, possibly earlier given the current development of the hops.”
How are you feeling about this year’s yield potential?
“We feel that this year will be an average to slightly below-average year depending on the variety. Some varieties are experiencing early bloom, which is when a hop plant produces cones before fully vegetating and earlier in its development cycle. This can lead to some yield declines but mostly results in a mixture of mature and adolescent cones, possibly affecting aroma. However, the effects won’t be determined until harvest.”
Are any varieties looking especially strong this year?
“El Dorado® looks to be especially strong this year along with Chinook and Mosaic®.”
What is one thing you wish all brewers knew about hop farming?
“A lot of these farms really are multi-generational family operations. Growing hops is not easy, but the passion and excitement that we see in brewers drive us to continue doing what we do. We embrace the challenge, especially those that we've faced in recent years, and stay focused on producing the highest quality hops that we can for your beer. At the end of the day, craft brewers have been instrumental in making it sustainable for future generations to come back and continue growing hops at these family-owned hop farms.”
Coleman Agriculture - Max Coleman - OR
How did the spring season go on your farm?
“A relatively cool and wet spring followed by some early heat led to a late, but vigorous, start to the season. For pest/disease pressures, mildews were fairly limited and well-managed, though the early heat did lead to increased mite pressure earlier in the season than normal.”
How are you feeling about this year’s yield potential?
“At this point, I feel like we may see some varieties with lower yields, and some with about average yields. Overall, I'd expect to see a slight decrease on total pounds produced on the acres that remain in production.”
Are any varieties looking especially strong this year?
“Loving the look of Strata and Cascade!”
What is one thing you wish all brewers knew about hop farming?
“In a changing market situation, realistic contracts are more important to us than ever. As farmers, we want to continue to support our families and farms, and we can't do that without information from the brewers. We understand that info will be imperfect because nobody can read customers' minds or perfectly forecast trends, but providing an educated guess on your hop needs keeps varieties you care about in the ground and family farms in business.”
Crooked Creek Hops - Christopher Holden - NY - 5 acres
How did the spring season go on your farm?
“Spring was strange. Started off normal then got very hot for about a week then it was cold and very dry for an extended period of time.”
How are you feeling about this year’s yield potential?
“Yield we think is going to be average to above average at this point. Some varieties will be down as that Cold dry weather slowed early growth and then it was hot and wet and helped but didn't get our heat units like we wanted. On the positive side burring is late so we still have time for those varieties to beef up before harvest.”
Are any varieties looking especially strong this year?
“Vista of course, Michigan Copper being late because of weather looks good too. USDA 032 looks very good but could be that we have figured out the training timing. Triumph was held back this year and we normally compare it to Vista and has worried us but is not looking wonderful that it has some moisture to pull from. Rakau is another that has surprised us. It has climbed extremely well but also looks a little spindle-y. This could also be that it is a late variety and its farther behind than the others.”
What is one thing you wish all brewers knew about hop farming?
“The Blood, Sweat and held back Tears.”
Crooked Yard Hops - Jake TeSelle - MT - 6.5 acres
How did the spring season go on your farm?
“Pretty smooth. Cold and wet gave us more Downey than usual.”
How are you feeling about this year’s yield potential?
“I'd say things are looking pretty average. Vista is a strong standout, can't wait to see how it yields”
Are any varieties looking especially strong this year?
“Vista”
What is one thing you wish all brewers knew about hop farming?
“I wish more Brewers came to see the whole process. Twining and training are boring, but essential parts of the farm. Also more Brewers should go visit at harvest!”
Four Star Farms - Liz L'Etoile - MA - 15 acres
How did the spring season go on your farm?
“The spring season started off a little slow due to unseasonably cold/rainy days and a late season frost but our hops were able to overcome those challenges and reach the top of the trellis by the 4th of July (a key milestone). As we continue into summer and hotter temperatures, the hops are thriving.”
How are you feeling about this year’s yield potential?
“Looking at the plants, you can see that we're managing disease pressures very well and there is so much side arm development (where the cones will ultimately grow from) across all of our varieties, leading me to believe that this is going to be a solid yielding season.”
Are any varieties looking especially strong this year?
“Our Centennial, Nugget (Pepite here at the farm) and Cascade are looking particularly lush with a tremendous amount of side arms and burrs (future hops). Centennial is always the first variety that we harvest and we're already seeing lots of cone development. We're excited about how well the season seems to be progressing.”
What is one thing you wish all brewers knew about hop farming?
“There are so many classic varieties that are made more exciting by the terroir of the region they're grown in. Our Cascade for example is similar to west coast Cascade, with it's citrus base but is made even more delicious (particularly in NEIPAs, where it can be used as a single hop) due of the complex stone fruit (think apricots) and bright orange citrus notes that come from our soil/growing conditions.”
Gooding Farms, Inc. - Diane Gooding - ID
How did the spring season go on your farm?
“Interesting spring, lots of moisture in May and early June. March was challenging weather to get all root baby hops planted.”
How are you feeling about this year’s yield potential?
“So far, so good. It’s still very early and with weather and other variables much can change. Our crop this year currently looks average.”
Are any varieties looking especially strong this year?
“Chinook! Vista!”
What is one thing you wish all brewers knew about hop farming?
“Hops can grow nearly a foot a day which makes growing them challenging due to nutrient and fertility demands to support the super structure.”
Hazy Daze Hops Farm - Noah Petronic - PA - .5 acres
How did the spring season go on your farm?
“We went from a cold wet early spring to 80+ degrees and 6 weeks of drought from early may to late june. Not to mention 5 heavy frost night in late April thru mid May . So a fun early season.”
How are you feeling about this year’s yield potential?
“This year looks like a good year so far, nice side arms and burrs forming. Plants all hit top wire and filled in nice.”
Are any varieties looking especially strong this year?
“We only have crystal growing this year and they’re looking strong.”
What is one thing you wish all brewers knew about hop farming?
“No, us small growers can’t grow citra, simcoe and mosaic, but our terroir can give the varieties we can grow a very different/unique aroma that may benefit both of us. A Pennsylvania cascade can be very tropical if grown correctly. Work with your local hop grower, it makes us better growers and you a more informed brewer.”
St Croix Valley Hops - Eric Anderson - WI - 5 acres
How did the spring season go on your farm?
“Spring yard work got off to a slow start as last winters heavy snowfall was slow to leave. Hanging twine and training was accomplished over a two week period ending just after the 20th of May putting us just a few days behind. Mid May through the end of June was extremely dry and warm seeing only .2" of rainfall. Irrigation was necessary but both pest and disease pressure remained very low. Currently the crop has caught up to where we typically want it to slightly ahead, European noble varieties are setting cone and American varieties are just setting burr. 2.5" of rainfall over the last week and a half has the crop looking very lush as it starts to fill out in anticipation of a good harvest.”
How are you feeling about this year’s yield potential?
“Above average.”
Are any varieties looking especially strong this year?
“Cascade, Chinook, Bitters Gold & Vista”
What is one thing you wish all brewers knew about hop farming?
“When done right, the hop quality coming out of the Midwest is exceptional!”
Thomsen Hops - Zack Reinstein - CA - 16 acres
How did the spring season go on your farm?
“It was extremely wet and cold with most rain we've had in 25 years”
How are you feeling about this year’s yield potential?
“Yields are looking above average”
Are any varieties looking especially strong this year?
“Chinook”
What is one thing you wish all brewers knew about hop farming?
“We put as much passion into our hops as you do with you beer.”
More hop content:
Trial Experimental Public Hops 2000-010-008 and W1108-333! As covered in Hop Notes 03 the Hop Research Council solicits brewers to trial elite line public hops. Your experience in trials is a crucial part of public hop research. Better yet, proceeds support further public hop research. To learn more or get started with a trial visit: ExperimentalPublicHops.com.
Male hop plants don’t look the same. HopSteiner had this nice run down on the role of male hop plants for your educational pleasure.
That sound you hear is capital going nuts with New Zealand hops. Nelson Lake Hops is joining the game with over 900 acres of production, making them the newest, and largest, entrant to the exploding NZ supply.
Thanks for reading Hop Notes 06. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please consider subscribing or forwarding it to a friend.
That’s all for now. If you have topics you’d like to read about in Hop Notes my inbox is open 24/7: ericrsannerud@gmail.com.
Hi Eric
Thanks for this, a good reminder for brewers that hops are an agricultural product. So many of the seasonal variations are beyond the growers control. Here in BC Canada we have had the warmest/driest spring in a decade. Thanks to abundant groundwater, the plants are thriving, good growth, low disease pressure, great burr formation. We anticipate above average yields.
Cheers, Ray Bredenhof
Bredenhof Hop Farms
Love the farmer reports!