The 2010 Northern Hemisphere Hop Harvest Report

There are a few minor difficulties following the 2010 harvest but they are very small compared to recent years as the acreage planted in 2008 is now starting to produce fully. Who would have believed that after the disastrous market shortages in 2007 that worldwide we would already be seeing large areas pulled out and more grubbing being planned for next year? How quickly times change.

The UK this year experienced its coldest winter for over 30 years and there is no doubt that this helped the hops throughout the growing season. Pest and disease pressures were far lower than in milder years as the cold weather killed off a lot of problems. The early Spring growth was good as the ground dried up and the hops thrived in the above average temperatures of March, April and May. However, without rain growers soon became worried when in June and early July varieties started to show signs of stress and plant development was not as strong as was hoped for. Fuggles in particular looked to be “a bit thin” and reports of a possible shortage of Fuggles were circulating around the trade. Patchy showers then arrived in late July and the weather turned cooler. Some areas benefitted greatly from the rain and others just got enough moisture to bring the crop around.

At harvest the story was generally good although some isolated areas have had poor yields. This has been more than made up for by other farms where very good yields have been achieved. There are very few problems with supply apart from the variety Bramling Cross where a large area of newly planted hops failed to come up to expectation. So a short crop of Bramling Cross is the only real difficulty with UK hops this year.

Development continues apace with the new varieties in the pipeline for next year and beyond looking very promising. The newest of the hedgerow hops, Sovereign, has done extremely well this year with good yields, alpha and quality. This variety continues to impress with a fantastic show of cones across the whole hedge and very little leaf.

Growers have also discovered that starting to pick a week later has increased the aroma of the sample significantly. The relatively new variety Pilgrim has also impressed with its yield and quality, comparing very well to Challenger (but with higher alpha) and being an excellent replacement for Target. Its disease resistance, high alpha and traditional noble aroma have made this variety a very strong favourite amongst brewers and growers alike. From initial figures it seems that there will be very little change in the total UK acreage next year although disease susceptible varieties, like Fuggles continue to decline in acreage it is anticipated that other varieties such as Progress and Sovereign will fill the gap.

In Germany the total acreage in 2010 stayed quite stable despite pleas from American growers for the acreage to be reduced in response to the changing market conditions. Aroma varieties declined following a decision by a major buyer to switch from Hallertau Mittlefruh to higher alpha varieties but overall acreage was stable.

Conditions for growing were very favourable until a repeat (to the day) of the 2009 hail storms hit the Hallertau region in late May. It was probably not quite as damaging as in 2009 but nonetheless there were large areas reduced to shredded stems by the hail. This pre-empted a period of cooler wetter weather which in turn encouraged powdery mildew to take a toll on the plants. Growers were worried how this might affect the harvest but as in the UK the conditions proved to be helpful to the plants with reasonable yields seen in most areas.

In the Czech Republic and Slovenia the growing season was very good with plenty of rain to keep the plants healthy in the hot, sunny, summer conditions. Savinjski Goldings, often under pressure in dry seasons, performed well as did all varieties in these countries. Research continues at the Slovenian hop institute to find a replacement for Savinjski and there seems to be a very promising seedling in the system that shows an almost identical oil profile and excellent agronomic properties. More work will be done next year on commercial farm trials to see how the variety performs.

Poland suffered terribly with floods in the Lublin area wiping out large areas of hops. Fortunately it does not seem to have troubled the market with good yields elsewhere filling the gaps left by the destroyed areas.

In the USA there has been a huge turn around in the amount of hops being grown. In 2008 4,500 hectares were planted in response to the shortages. The latest figures show that the 2010 acreage has dropped back by an almost identical amount. That is quite a turn around and evidence that the US growers are no longer prepared to grow hops on spec. If brewers do not come into the market to make contracts then it seems that the hops will no longer be grown. This is understandable in the Yakima Valley as planting can be ramped up again very quickly if more hops are needed (almost a full yield can be achieved in the first year of planting) whereas in Europe and other hop growing nations this is not possible as it takes 3 years to get full production. It is therefore easy to see why the European Acreage has not reduced at the same rate.

Early spring conditions were unusually cold in the US and this caused some worry for growers, however the summer turned up in plenty of time and the very hot conditions and plenty of irrigation nurtured the plants through to what was a reasonably good harvest. No reported shortages were encountered in any of the mainstream varieties although the increasing demand for niche varieties Amarillo, Simcoe, Crystal and Liberty has made these varieties a little tight.

The market generally has seen quite a demand for new varieties with distinctive and exciting aromas being the order of the day. This has been led by the craft brewers in countries across the globe and it is also evident that many of the larger regional and national brewers are starting to follow suit with new seasonal beers very popular amongst beer drinkers. There are certainly signs that we could be following the wine market with an increasing number of smaller, regional brands complimenting the multi-national brands in the market. This also means that a wider range of different hop varieties would be required and breeders and growers certainly seem to be looking for opportunities in these areas with new varieties coming through to challenge our taste buds in almost every country. It seems that the range and variety of hops will be better than ever over the coming years.

Overall it is widely believed that acreage worldwide must be reduced to avoid overproduction next year. Therefore it is important for us to make sure contracts are in place to ensure our supplies for the future. It is also very important not to forget the growers who helped us through the very difficult times in 2007. With acreage dropping back to 2007 levels in the USA and further acreage to be grubbed next year it is certainly not the time to be deserting your trusted supplier. A good, well balanced, long term relationship with your hop supplier has to be “the insurance” against future shortages and sleepless nights!

Archive Newsletters

Autumn 2010 - Changes at Charges Faram & Co Ltd

Weatherspoons Report March 2010

Autumn 2007 - Freak storm
Summer 2006 - New Receipe ideas
Spring 2006 - Organic News
May 2002 - Pilot takes off
December 2001 - Merry Xmas