While German beer makers were the first brewers to start using wild hops in the early 8th century, it’s been American innovators who have taken both hop production and hop-infused beers to new levels of innovation and flavor. Rewind to 1909 and marvel at the mechanical hops separator, patented by Emil Horst in Elk Grove, Calif. (ok, he did emigrate from Germany). He revolutionized hop growing and processing with his patented mechanical separator that harvested the hops while discarding the vines and leaves.
Since the 1930s, Oregon State University (OSU) has been a global hot spot for hop research in North America. The U.S. government, OSU and some very talented minds have literally generated millions of acres of research on hop varieties, producing engineering icons like Dr. Al Haunold (who is credited with some 20 varieties of hops, including Cascade, which is a cornerstone in today’s craft brewing industry).
That’s just two examples.
Today, American craft brewing pioneers have taken up the torch for innovative hop usage. A forward-hops taste (and the IPA category of beer) is almost a hallmark of U.S. craft beers, but how exactly do brewhouses produce those unique hoppy flavors? How do they get the hops to make that amazing beer, and what are the latest techniques and innovations changing the hop and beer industry? We decided to ask the experts, and below they shared their insights on everything from flexible contracts to hydroponic farming.
The evolution of hop hash
Michelle Palacios, marketing coordinator
Crosby Hop Farm (Woodburn, Ore.)
For more than 115 years, Crosby Hop Farm has been growing great hops, producing the beautiful green flowers of the female hop plant. Although we are hop growers, in actuality we are lupulin gland growers. The lupulin glands of the hop flower are filled with golden hop oils which create the aroma and flavor that is synonymous with beer. Once our hops are picked, more than 80 percent are processed into hop pellets. The milling process includes breaking apart the whole bale, grinding the hops into a powder and then pressing the powder through a die to make a pellet. A small amount of lupulin collects on the screens as the powder passed through on its way to the pellet die. It pained us to watch the pure hop goodness be scraped and sent to compost, hence the evolution of “hop hash” began.
At Crosby Hop Farm, we have seen the interest in hop hash continue to increase since we started offering the product just two harvests ago. More brewers are working with the product, and in-turn we are receiving more feedback about the powerful statement it imparts in the beer. The hop hash is often added late in the whirlpool, just before knock out to fully capture the hop aromatics. It leads to an intense hop experience, a true explosion of flavor. We have instituted a rigorous quality control program for hop hash that includes metal detection and hand sorting. Hop hash is variety specific and extremely volatile, so it is immediately packaged into the same mylar packaging as our pellet and leaf products to maintain brewing quality. What once was a pellet mill waste product has become a unique and potent brewing tool.
Protect your hop yards this winter
John Maier, brewmaster
Rogue Ales & Spirits (Newport, Ore.)
Come to Rogue Farms this winter, and you’ll see an empty looking hop yard with nothing but poles and wires. Don’t be fooled. The real action is taking place under the soil in the rhizomes. Whether you’re a hop farmer like Rogue Farms, or if you grow hops at home, it’s important to protect your rhizomes this time of year. After harvesting, a hopyard still needs care and tending to prepare it for winter and spring. Here are our winter tips for growing your own hops:
- Cut back your bines after the first frost. Let them soak up as much sun as possible.
- Once you’ve cut them back, cover the crowns with at least five inches of mulch or straw. We use leftover bines and coir. This protects rhizomes from freezing temperatures.
- This is a good time for trellis repairs. At Rogue Farms we replace or fix aging poles and wires. If don’t have a trellis, we suggest buying one or building your own before spring growth begins. Get one at least 10 feet tall.
- A good way to grow your garden is by splitting the rhizomes you already have. January and February are the best months for that. Dig around the rhizomes and cut them into lengths of 3 to 4 inches, making sure each piece has lots of buds. Place them vertically in pots with the top just below the surface of the soil. Bring them indoors and plant next spring.
Growing your own hops, even a small patch, is a great way to learn about this amazing plant that gives beer such wonderful flavor, aroma and bitterness. Join us and grow your own revolution.
Know the farmer, find the best product
Dan Kopman, co-founder
Schlafly Beer (St. Louis, MO)
Like any consumer who wants to know where their food or drink comes from, I’m a brewer who wants to know where our hops come from and who grows them. For many brewers, hops are simply 44 pounds of pelletized flavor and aroma, sealed in a protective foil and sturdy box. For farmers, hops are a winter of hard field work, a spring of hope, a summer of unpredictable rain, and a fall of harvest worry. As a 21-year-old trainee brewer, Ken Don, the retired head brewer at Young’s in London, introduced me to hop farmers in Kent. When I married a Scottish barley farmer’s daughter, I learned that a brewer is a drinks manufacturer, and a hop farmer may also grow other products such as grapes, raspberries or mint.
The more a brewer learns about farming, hop farming in particular, the more they will know about the challenges in growing that hop and the qualities to look for in a great grower, which will make better, more profitable beer. Both farmers and brewers care about the quality of hops. Both care about price, albeit with contrasting emotions. Beyond these important factors their worlds diverge. Selling beer is points of distribution for your beer multiplied by the rate of sale. Selling hops is acres multiplied by yield per acre. Both have capital and variable input costs. Our rate of sale is their yield per acre. Brewers should sell beers that have the highest rate of sale; farmers the hops that yield the most per acre. It doesn’t always work that way, but the more we communicate directly, the more we can achieve our unique and mutually shared goals.
We visit the farms and take part in the harvest — rubbing and sniffing a whole leaf sample to select hop varieties for our year-round beers to seasonal releases. Through our Hop Trial program at Schlafly Beer, we brew single malt, single hop beers with the hops such as Summer, Azacca, and more. It showcases the nuances of the hop varieties to the consumers, and lets us tell the story of the farmers. We could just wait for the box of pellets to arrive and chances are, it will be exactly what I want — but I would rather have visited the farm and shared a beer with the farmer who grew the hops that made the beer what it is.
Picking what you want in a hop is so important
Tim Hawn, brewmaster
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery (Milton, Del.)
With the high demand for hops these days, brewers need to be cognizant of all that goes into hop selection — predictions of what is needed for the next few years, staying up-to-date with what’s new in the world of hop breeding and development and even contracts. So what’s that mean for us as brewers? First of all, contracts. I would recommend that everyone consider some sort of contracting with a great hop broker or farmer direct, if you can swing it.
Another thing, make sure you understand if you are going to be able to select your particular hop variety. As a small brewer, you may have to select and get processed with another brewer’s lot, but picking what you want in a hop is so important to the quality of our beer. Understand what the hop is doing from a planting side. The USDA publishes these reports, and they are accessible to all. With this you can tell if acreage is increasing, going down, etc., arm yourself with that information. It can lead you to choosing to contract for longer periods of time on some varieties to make sure the farmer’s want to grow them.
Lastly, get to know your growers. Year after year, I pretty much select the same growers. Having a good relationship with them can do wonders in knowing what is happening without being in the field. Understanding their challenges with water management, tight harvest windows and limited picking equipment can yield big dividends. Sometimes we can make a slight change and help them out. When I am speaking with breeders about new hop varieties I always try to understand where they fit in the picking window to make sure the growers have the best opportunity to get us what we desire and what fits their operation.
Long story short … develop a contracting strategy, get to know the people growing your hops and don’t underestimate selection.
Support a hop broker
Dan Gordon, co-founder
Gordon Biersch Brewing Co. (San Jose, Calif.)
A great relationship with a hop broker and/or farmer is paramount for a successful brewing operation. I learned this back when I was studying in Germany. First thing my advising professor did when he heard I was going to open up a brewery restaurant was to introduce me to Fritz Briem, the owner of Lupex, a company that specializes in sourcing and exporting German hops. Fritz lives in Au in the Hallertau, the top growing region for aroma hops in the world. You walk in his office in September, and you are immediately hit with the aroma of the hop harvest. When the harvest is bad, a great broker will steer you in the right direction. If a hop varietal is next to impossible to get, a great broker will get it for you. But the caveat is you need to have a longstanding relationship. If your reputation is to go shopping different brokers every year you aren’t going to be treated like family. I don’t see hop supplies catching up to demand for another three to four years. It is a seller’s market, and startups are going to be competing with the big boys that have locked in five-year supply commitments.
Use data to plan ahead
Adrian Belobradic. sales director
GP Analytics LLC (Seattle)
As a company focused on the use of accurate data to build forecasts for our partners, we are tasked year after year to help with raw material purchasing. Hops in particular are top of mind for our brewery partners. While it is easy to look at batch sizes, yields, and turns to predict the amount of hops your brewery might need, the trouble comes when an accurate forecast of your products demand is not realized. What we would recommend is using the data you have collected and organized to map out a one to five year forecast for your raw material purchasing. This will get you in a better price point than companies buying hops as needed on the spot market. While the data might be daunting and your forecast not as accurate as others the information you can dig up and organize will give you a starting point and reward you in the long term success of your business.
More hop knowledge awaits. Just click Next Page below to learn about contracts, farming and hydroponics.
Hop contracting
Chris Riphenburg, head brewery
Ale Asylum (Madison, Wis.)
In today’s modern brewing world, there are many different varieties of hops to choose from. Some varieties have massive acreage allocations while some have very small acreage allocations. Some varieties are grown in the United States, while others are grown in Germany, New Zealand, Australia, Czech Republic, France, United Kingdom and other places around the world. With so much demand for new varieties it’s hard to know when and how much to purchase for a brewing year. It’s important to understand that hops planted and harvested this year aren’t available to use until next year.
Hop contracting will ensure that you are allocated the amount needed for a given crop year. There are many different hops brokers and growers that can provide access and information about hop contracts. Choosing the variety and amount needed depends on a few key factors. Are you a brewpub or production brewery? Has your brand realized consistent growth? Do you anticipate creating new recipes in the future? Contracting three to four years in advance is a standard practice. It might seem scary to sign expensive contracts that haven’t been planted yet, but this ensures that the hop growers plant the proper acreage to supply the demand. It will be a lot more expensive to try and purchase hops on the spot market. And most times you won’t find the varieties you want to use on the spot market. So, be prepared for future growth of your popular brands. Being proactive about hop contracting will ensure brewery can brew and grow for years to come.
In fact, contract five years out
Jason Ebel, co-founder
Two Brothers Brewing Co. (Warrenville, Ill.)
As a member of the Supply Chain Subcommittee for the Brewers Association, I always encourage people to have their hop contracts in order. Hops are obviously a big part of brewing, and my advice is to contract your hops out five years in advance. With so many startups and new breweries popping up, a lot of the favorite hop farms are already claimed. You have to get into the hop contracting game right away and the best way to do that is to contract 100 percent of what you think you are going to need for the first two years. Then contract 80 percent in the third year, 60 percent in the fourth year and 40 percent in the fifth year. Each year you can add to that based on need. This will give you some wiggle room because you can never be sure of your growth pattern. The brand that is leading the way today won’t necessarily be leading the way tomorrow. You need flexibility, but you also need to show your commitment to the hop suppliers. This can help you accomplish both. My other suggestion would be to consider new growers that are regional to your brewery. There are some amazing hops that are being grown all over the country. Take a look at your local options that can help you become more sustainable and minimize your carbon footprint.
Maximize your hop potential with CO2 extract
Adam Schmitt, brewer
Founders Brewing Co. (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
Hops have always been the big topic among brewers. All of us are concerned if we will be able to get a piece of the hot new variety coming out, or if our contracts for current hops can be filled. After knowing what we have access to, it’s time to figure out what to do with them. Should we leave them as whole cones in bail form, process into pellets or even further to CO2 extract? Many of our recipes at Founders contain some extra-large hop strikes. Along with constant growth and more automation in the brewhouse, this caused us to really look at how we were utilizing our hops at the time.
We always thought pellets were the way to go but were beginning to have slight interest in CO2 extract. The first time we tried extract we dumped it from the can straight into our 30-barrel brewhouse hoping the strange goo would mix well and not just scorch to the bottom. We were also hoping the flavor of the extract would match the variety it was made from. The beer turned out great, and that got us thinking how we could use this compact form of hop in our larger automated brewhouse. Possible solutions for dosing our large hop strikes were on our minds during these upcoming trials. After converting our pellet amounts to extract for certain hop strikes, we found these trials worked as we had hoped with no negative flavor impact; in some cases we preferred the extract versions. This had also eliminated the enormous vegetative load in the dosing units, causing them to work perfectly and our knock out wort to have much less trub.
We had expected to gain brewhouse KO efficiency because of this as well, but with some beers the increase was greater than 10 percent. Overall, after just a few brews, we were hooked. CO2 extract had been a foreign substance to us at Founders for a long time, but we were much more comfortable implementing a new product after we educated ourselves and asked more questions. Extracts can be variety specific and made from the lots of hops you chose during selection. This is just one example of the many ways hops are processed and made available to brewers. I just want to encourage everyone to educate themselves on all forms of hop products out there and experiment as well. You may find the way you are currently using hops cannot be beat, but you may also find great gains as we have.
Try something innovative (like hydroponic hops)
Colin Clark, head grower
Hydro Hop Farms (Fort Collins, Colo.)
The humble little hop cone has a long and complex story that is ever changing. It was once used for its anti-bacterial properties, then treasured for its high alpha bitterness and now people love its exotic aromas. Although the beer drinker will change and the role of hops will change, the good news is that the need for hops in beer will never change. In the spirit of innovation and constantly looking for ways to improve, at Hydro Hop Farms we aim to grow the hops of tomorrow and have created the world’s first hydroponic indoor hop farm. It’s our answer to the next chapter in the story of the hop. We challenge hop growers and brewers alike to really push the limits and think outside of the box. Lose the fear of ruining a batch of beer or plot of plants! Doing something well can easily be learned, doing something exceptional will come from experience and trial-and-error. Our innovations as a community will help keep craft beer on a steady rise in both popularity and quality.
What the farmer expects of brewers
Ali Capper, farmer
Stocks Farm (Worcestershire, England)
Farmers want what their customer needs from a breeding program, so from a hop breeder a craft brewer should expect beautiful hops that are good for pest and disease resistance, high yields and creativity of new aromas and flavors. As far as farmers go, craft brewers should expect a loyal, hard-working partnership. Hop farming is a long-term business. When a grower makes the investment in the wirework and posts to support a new hop yard, he is hoping that the investment will be good for at least 20 years. Growers are very dedicated, working hard to deliver the highest quality hops often against all the odds — like the weather — and in return they are seeking a partnership from their customers and brewers. That partnership needs to deliver sustainable returns and some sense of surety in the form of contracts for at least 3 years.
One point on sustainability. One of the most unique things about British hops is that very little of the total crop is irrigated, which makes them some of the most environmentally sustainable in the world. And to finish on the Stocks Farm philosophy: Listen hard to our customers, motivate our staff to produce the best quality hop crop possible, have fun with our brewer friends and operate an open door policy. Our craft brewing customers from anywhere in the world are welcome to visit any time of year to see what we do, and as it’s one of the most beautiful parts of the world, it’s definitely worth a visit.
Don’t undervalue the inspiration of hop farms
Brock Wagner, founder and brewer
Saint Arnold Brewing Co. (Houston)
Getting the right type, quantity and quality of hops, all for the right price takes involvement from the brewer. First, you need to contract. We contract out for our current needs for five years and assume zero growth. Then the following year, if our needs have increased, we contract out for the incremental amount for the next four years and the total amount in year five. This lessens the chance of being over-contracted which is as big a problem as under-contracted.
Second, go visit the farms. Hordes of brewers go to Yakima every year, us included. We also go to Germany and Czech where American craft brewers are a more unusual sight. Our visits result in us getting a higher grade of hop than we would otherwise receive. Also the co-op we purchase from has learned what we like in our Hersbrucker and the offerings they have for us to select from reflect this. Our visits also put us first in line for experimental hops. Finally, don’t undervalue the inspiration that visiting hop growers and doing hop selection has on your brewing team. I come back every year with a renewed appreciation of the hop and a few ideas for new test brews.
Physically and financially support local growers
Steven Courier, chief brewer
SLO Brewing Co. (San Luis Obispo, Calif.)
Here at SLO Brewing Co., we are lucky to have a good relationship with a local hop grower. This grower graduated from the local college with an ag degree and was looking for something to grow on her property when she happened into hops. On a trip to Washington state she saw for the first time hop fields in full bloom and fell in love. After some research she realized that there was a shortage of hops and committed to growing them. We brewed our first wet hop IPA two years ago, and it turned out to be one of our favorites. She yielded about 70 lbs that first year and the fresh hops went into the beer the next day. The following year she planted more rhizomes, but with the drought taking hold here in California, she actually yielded less, about 40 lbs.
To keep her from getting too frustrated and to encourage her to continue growing hops, we decided it was time for SLO Brew to step up and help out. We started by getting a crew of employees together to go out to the hop farm and help pick. This was a great opportunity for them to learn and get some hands on experience and also proved to be a great team building exercise. It helped her out tremendously, turning a long two day job into a fun five hour job. It also allowed us to use the hops 4 hours after picking instead of waiting a day. Next we changed the structure by which she would be compensated for her hops. Instead of giving her a flat rate per pound of hop, we are giving her a percentage of the sales of our fresh hop IPA. Instead of making a few hundred dollars, she will make a few thousand dollars, and we are happy to do it. We are helping out a local grower, we get to promote our close relationship and, somewhat selfishly, we get to continue brewing one of our favorite beers.
