Charles Faram, a UK hop grower proclaiming it carries the largest variety of hops in that country, provided a recent update on the hop harvest. Below is the portion most relevant to the U.S. growing region. For an update on all growing regions, click here.

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In the USA, we continue to see a shift away from high alpha varieties, as many yards of CTZ’s (Columbus, Tomahawk and Zeus) are grubbed. The acreage is not being wasted though as it is being re-planted with aroma hops.

Amarillo has now been released to two other growers after being restricted for a very long time. Extra plantings of this variety at the old Anheuser Busch farms in Northern Idaho have been disappointing though as the worst floods to hit the area in 100 years caused a washout. Shortages of Amarillo are still predicted this year. Citra, Simcoe, Sorachi Ace, Ahtanum, Chinook, Cascade, Centennial and other USA craft brewing favourites have also struggled to fulfill demand as the craft brewing industry expands. Shortages and price increases are expected.

During the season, growers who put the string to their hops early saw a huge benefit as a cool spell during the spring significantly slowed down the rate of growth. Hops that had been strung early got away nicely but unstrung acreage really struggled to get going. Many growers reported this as a major reason for lower yields. Some searing hot temperatures through the summer then followed this with good growth and cone set. Red Spider mites and Downy Mildew have caused some problems and there were some very red hops being harvested late on in the season (mainly in the high alpha varieties).