Hop Notes 23: CBC 2025 Hop Guide
Expert analysis to help you make better hop decisions.
Here’s your guide to hop seminars, expo booths, and activities at CBC 2025. For any of you that are attending CBC, please say hi, I’d love to meet you.
Hops at CBC 2025
Seminars
There’s actually (a bit) more than zero! Thank you to the always excellent Brewers Association staff for reaching out and providing clarity on seminars that include hop content.
Sourcing Best Practices: Evolve from Tactical Buying to Strategic Sourcing - Wabash Ballroom 2 - Level 1
Tuesday 1:15 - 2:15pm
This is a star studded panel loaded with experience - that will cover sourcing of all manner of brewery inputs - including I am promised - hops.
Market-Proof Hop Water: Thirst Quenching, Zero ABV, Consumer Safe Hoppy Waters from A to Z - Wabash Ballroom 2 - Level 1
Wednesday 12 - 1pm
There’s a lot of scientific experience in this group regarding hops in beverages. For anyone trying to hone in their hop water production, I’d get to this seminar.
Perfecting Your Palate: Elevating Sensory Skills through Reference Standards - 122 - Level 1
Thursday 10 - 11am
Long time readers know that I am skeptical of the practicality of replicating highly technical, scientific sensory in the average brewery…BUT…this talk looks to be a nice hands-on introduction to the benefits of using sensory standards to inform both beer and hop sensory programs at your brewery.
Expo Booths
Here’s the complete Expo Guide link. And here’s a select subset of booths with my notes on the company and their expected CBC presence:
Abstrax
The loudest brand name in extracts is back with their 'Skunkwerks Lounge’ - a bar highlighting beers using their hop, cannabis, or fruit extracts. This year we can vote on our favorite of the 8 beers on tap and the winning brewery gets $5K.
Brew Trade Hub
I’ve been following the development of this new platform for a while now. Their website promotes CBC as the big public launch of the buy/sell platform, I’m excited to learn more about it.
Charles Faram
Global hop factors who are one of the pillars of the British hop industry. The modern aroma varieties coming out of Britain could compete with other modern varieties - if only brewers’ adjusted their expectations of British hops. I particularly recommend newcomers Harlequin® and Olicana®.
Clayton Hops
The big (biggest?) hop farmers in New Zealand introduced their new line of Amplifire extract and enriched products at the previous CBC and I’ve heard new additions are expected to this line up sometime - maybe in Indy!
Crosby Hops
They’ve posted that some of their new varieties from their in-house Crosby breeding program will be unveiled at CBC this year. I’m excited for that plus the “Flagship Fridge” - highlighting flagship beers with Crosby hops.
Haas
While some other big players have been cutting sales, Haas has continued to hire hop sales folks throughout the market downturn, which is interesting. At the booth I’m looking forward to tasting Cloudburst’s love letter to Galaxy® hops, Yay, Space! IPA, featuring 2023 and 2024 Galaxy which according to
Steve Luke’sCloudburst’s Instagram post: “THEY WERE THE BEST GALAXY WE HAVE EVER BREWED WITH”. I’m excited to try exciting Galaxy®.
Hollingbery
Always leading the charge when it comes to independent and public hop varieties; I’m looking forward to the gems they’ll have on display.
Hop France
I never miss my once-a-year opportunity to rub French hops - French hops are much more than just Barbe Rouge!
Hop Growers of America
Easily one of the best booth experiences every year: hop farmers, a diversity of new/cool/interesting US hops and plenty of beers to taste. Plus don’t miss out on the collectible hop cards.
Hop Guild
NY grown Triumph and NY grown Vista are outstanding examples of each variety, make sure to rub both of these at their booth.
Hop Head Farms
Cereal dispensers full of wonderful hop varieties from MI and across the world - get a taste of the Bierstadt samples before they run out!
Hop Revolution
As US brewers have become more accustomed to New Zealand hops I’ve seen Hop Revolution marketing Nelson Sauvin pick-window differences and I’m looking forward to rubbing their early/mid/late Nelson. And if you haven’t talked shop Hop Rev founder Susan Wheeler, she’s a real one, don’t miss out.
Hops Direct
This direct-from-farm seller posted about a new experimental hop “Experimental 25” recently, hoping to rub that at their booth.
Hopsteiner
Erebus (HS 16660) will make it’s first CBC appearance since being released last year. LLZ is a new hop extract product from them - lemon, lime zest flavor - 100% derived from hops. Personally I’ve loved how it’s tasted and am happy that it is only hops. Plus a new addition to the Salvo extract family is expected to be launched.
HopTechnic
The best hop quality testers in the business, stop by their booth if you’re looking for scientific hop talk. Steph is one of the nicer, smarter people in this industry.
Indie Hops
Strata® has been extracted into HyperBoost™ - this cross-IP-ownership collab is likely driven by the past glut of Strata® on the market. When you see hops showing up in new or more formats - that’s one of the first things to think about. At CBC in particular I’m looking forward to tasting their Lorien® lager by Upright Brewing.
Lupulin Exchange
Everyone’s favorite online hop shop. They usually have a commemorative t-shirt give away, though this year sounds like they’ve got a Lupulin-exchange-shopper-only party planned. Search your email inbox for an invite.
Mill 95
Some of your favorite hops probably run through Mill 95. Beyond their own sales, Mill95 has become a critical pelleting, packaging, and fulfillment partner to a range of other hop sellers and farms.
RahrBSG
As Rahr and BSG navigate a new more direct relationship I’m watching how hops are handled amongst their large portfolio of brewing supplies. Traditionally the hop area of the RahrBSG “village” focused on public varieties like Vista and Cashmere. But they are now distributing HBC varieties through an agreement with Yakima Chief - I’ll be looking to see how that changes what hops are highlighted.
Totally Natural Solutions
TNS was acquired by mega-super-giant ADM and I’m interested to see how or if their booth presence changes and what that might show us about ADM’s strategy or intentions in the hop extract space.
Yakima Chief Hops
Every year it’s a bit of a guessing game - will HBC-_ _ _ get branded and released? Time will tell. I am expecting plenty of wizard/cauldron/potion imagery promoting Dyna- and HyperBoost™ product lines.
Activities
Ask and Imbibe - 205-207 - Level 2
Tuesday 5 - 6:30pm
Taste and evaluate 8 beers featuring experimental public hops from the Hop Quality Group’s partnership with the USDA Public Hop Breeding Program.
Crosby Party: Divin’ at Duke’s - 2352 S West St, Indianapolis
Tuesday 7 - 10pm
Two collab beers featuring Crosby’s hops and lots of live music.
CLS Hop and Beer Sensory - 136 - Level 1
Wednesday 2 - 4:30pm
Samples of Centennial, El Dorado®, Cashmere, Vista, and Brewers Gold plus collab beers featuring these hops from a variety of breweries!
Independent Farmer and Merchant Panel - 136 - Level 1
Thursday 12:30 - 1:15pm
Featuring Diane Gooding, hop farmer from Idaho, Eric Desmarais, hop farmer from Washington, Blake Crosby, hop farmer and merchant from Oregon, and Tim Sattler and Lee Rottweiler merchants from Washington.
YQH Room - Hospitality Room 5 - Wabash West Corridor
All conference long. Featuring beers all made with Elani®.
More hop content:
Dr.Gonzalez is back! (For now). As discussed in MBAA Podcast episode 331 Our newest USDA public hop researcher’s job was re-instated last month after being cut by the new federal administration. As we’ve learned the last three months, nothing is guaranteed, but his return to work is good news for everyone in hops.
The tension between public and private breeding was also discussed in the latest MBAA podcast. Towards the end (50:45 mark) is a good set of questions and answers about the relationships between public and private breeding programs.
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That’s all for now. If you have topics you’d like to read about in Hop Notes my inbox is open 24/7: ericsannerud@gmail.com.