In San Diego, August, September and October bring the release of beers brewed with freshly-harvested hops. This year, more than a dozen farms in the county are providing hops to pro brewers and/or homebrewers. As of today, we know of a few brew plans; stay tuned to WestCoasterSD.com in August for more details from farmers and brewers.
– Star B Ranch is again providing hops to Tom Nickel’s Nickel Beer Company for a brew day in the first week of August. The farm, which doubles as a buffalo ranch, is likely to work with local breweries ChuckAlek, Burning Beard and Latitude 33 as well.
– SD Golden Hop Farm is hosting multiple “picking parties” for groups like Pink Boots Society (August 14), Culture Brewing (August 21) and the Women’s Craft Beer Collective (August 28). They’re also providing hops to these local breweries: Coronado (Cascade and Chinook for a San Diego Pale Ale); Reckless Brewing (Golden Boy); Pure Project (100% Californian ingredients collaboration with Everyday California); Culture (Cascade hops for a wet-hopped IPA); Ballast Point (Cascade and Chinook varieties for GABF entries); and Amplified Ale Works. A big collaboration beer— “Fallbrook Homegrown 2.0” — is in the works, featuring Cascade, Chinook and Galena hops with North County natives Chuck McLaughlin (Fallbrook Brewing), Ryan Brooks (Coronado), John Maino (Ironfire), Lucas Nelson (Green Flash) and Bradley Miles (Firestone Walker).
– Monkey Paw is planning “Same Day XPA” utilizing Nopalito Farm hops, specifically Cascade and Centennial varieties. As the name implies, those hops will be harvested on the same day the beer is brewed, either the second or third week of August.
– Nickel Beer Co. is crafting four wet hop beers this year. Besides the aforementioned collaboration with Star B Ranch, Nickel is making My Way IPA with fresh Chinook and Cascade from Nopalito Farm, Green Truck Double IPA with fresh Columbus from Nopalito, and a fresh hop brown ale with Scot Blair and hops from SD Golden Hop Farm.
– For homebrewers interested in picking your own hops, Hopportunity Farms just outside Julian is opening its gates for select dates in August and September: August 6 and 7, August 13 and 14, August 20 and 21, September 4, and September 11. Priced at $2 an ounce or $20 a pound, the farm grows Cascade, Nugget, Brewer’s Gold, Magnum, Centennial, Goldings, Willamette, and a local variety brought to Julian by gold miners in the 1890s. Contact Phil Warren for more details: prwarren46@gmail.com, or 858-735-2977.
– San Diego is now home to more than a dozen hop farmers in the northern and eastern parts of the county: Vista (Red Alpha Hops, Goat House Hops); Ramona (Big BoulderHops, Star B Ranch, ZZ Hops); Alpine (Hopatul Farms); Valley Center (Renquist Farms, Vine Ripe Farm, Bear Valley Organic Farms, Nopalito Farms); Julian (Hopportunity Farm); Fallbrook (ZP Growers, Mission Hops, San Diego Golden Hop Farm).
Note to brewers and farmers collaborating on wet hop beers: please e-mail ryan@westcoastersd.com with details so you can be included in the next web post.
On a national scale, hop acreage has grown for the fourth straight year. After a 15.4% increase in acres harvested in the US in 2015, a 10.2% increase in 2014, a 10.3% increase in 2013, and a 7.2% increase in 2012, acreage has jumped up once again, this time a whopping 18.5% from 2015. Total acres strung for harvest in the U.S. this summer is 53,213, or 8,303 more than last year.
According to a report from the Hop Growers of America, the Pacific Northwest represents the vast majority of domestically-grown hops, with 51,115 acres a new record for the region. That number is a 17% increase, or 7,482 acres, from last year. Washington’s Yakima Valley leads production with 37,475 acres, or more than 70% of the country’s acreage. Oregon and Idaho follow with 7,669 and 5,971 acres, respectively. Michigan is top dog outside the Pacific Northwest, with an estimated 650 acres in production and more in development. The total acreage outside the PNW increased by 64% this year, with 26 states reported 2,098 acres in production, collectively.
Pete Mahoney, Vice President, Supply Chain/Purchasing at John I. Haas, a hop supplier based in the Yakima Valley, said that, “The US hop industry has been in catch-up mode in recent years as the supply of craft-popular US aroma hops has lagged behind the dramatic growth of the craft brewing sector in both domestic and overseas markets. The 2016 acreage expansion is once again a direct response to market demand and does not happen overnight. It requires significant planning and commitment of industry resources.”
According to the USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service, craft-popular Cascade continues to hold the lead with 7,371 acres, and Centennial overtook bittering hop CTZ this year for second place with 5,009 acres.
“We’re very pleased with the U.S. hop industry’s ability to respond to the demands of a burgeoning craft brewing industry,” said Kevin Riel, fourth generation US Hop Grower and Hop Growers of America President. “However, we caution growers and brewers alike to remember the cyclical nature of a mature hop market, and the fine line between ample and over-supply which causes instability in supply and prices. Given the permanent nature of planting additional hops and the significant investment required to do so, restraint and an understanding of long time partnerships will be required from all involved to ensure a steady supply in the near and distant future.”
In California, the hop grower’s association (CHGA) is hosting an annual meeting on July 30 in Paso Robles. There, they’ll formalize bylaws and elect an executive team, as well as set a strategy and direction for the next year of hop growing.