U.S. Growers 95.8 percent in five years
Thanks to continued, increased demand for hop-forward beers, hop acreage continues to climb in the U.S. and across the world, even with U.S. acreage nearly doubling in five years.
In an unprecedented growth rate of U.S. hop acreage, hops continue to be on the rise in the United State and across the globe as consumer tastes and demands for beer with higher hopping rates persist. Despite a decrease in overall beer production, demand for hops continues, as signaled by hop contracts thanks to great thirst for more heavily hopped beers.
The U.S. acreage has grown 75.5 percent in just four years.
If anticipated acreage is actualized, then in five years' time, hop acreage in the United States will have practically doubled. Thanks to increased contracts with breweries and rapid efficiency of U.S. growers who can respond quickly to customer demand, hop acreage has risen 95.8 percent in five years. In total, since 2012, the U.S. has added over 28, 465 acres, including the estimated acreage as reported by the International Hop Growers' Convention (IHGC), and has more than 50 varieties in the ground.
“To put it into perspective, the U.S. acres added in the last five years is large than the total acreage of any other hop-growing country in the world, outside of our own and Germany, the two largest hop-producing countries.”
Overall, thanks to many more craft customers, and a seemingly unquenchable thirst for IPAs and other highly hopped beers, the result for U.S. growers is a far more stable market than in past years: high demand and a diversified customer base.
Article by Wine & Craft Beverage News, June 2017
