2023 Hop Crop Outlook
The 2023 hop harvest is rolling in! Whether you’re contracting your hop needs for 2024, purchasing on spot, or a combination, here’s a preview of what to expect from this crop year:
USA
In the US, all indications point to a normal year in terms of yield, and quality is expected to be good. In Washington state, a fire occurred in the Spokane area (approx. 300 miles from Yakima Valley’s growing region) but smoke remained high in the air and nothing to affect the crop.
As reported by the USDA in June, overall hop acreage this year is down vs. 2022. Most of this decrease is in proprietary aroma varieties; however, inventory from past crop years is abundant so still plenty of these hops to be had on the spot market. Additionally, alpha varieties saw a small increase in acreage which helped offset the decrease in aroma acreage.
Yields of Cascade are down – get in touch with BSG for spot and contract availability.
Germany
Good news first: despite Germany’s second weak hop crop in a row, BSG does not expect any shortage of our German varieties thanks to our close relationship with our partners HVG. Although yields are expected to be lower than average, quality is expected to be better than last year.
Crop year 2022 was very poor for German growers. This year’s harvest is expected to be about 20% bigger, but this is still below an average year.
Dry conditions plagued German hops during the growing phase but a late rain in July helped spur a recovery. HVG reports from the field that despite being slightly leaner than usual, the plants remain altogether remarkably robust and healthy. Anticipating the harvest, it’s worth noting that the yield is projected to be lower than in an average year. However, levels of alpha acids and oils are expected to be notably better than what was observed during the 2022 harvest.
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