Craft brewing boom leads to increase in hop acreage in Pacific Northwest

YAKIMA – The U.S. hop industry appears to be in a better position to respond to continuing growth of the craft beer industry.

According to a report from the Hop Growers of America, total U.S. hop acreage in production this year is projected to increase by about 6,000 acres, to 51,275 acres, or about 13 percent.

The majority of that additional acreage – 5,400 acres – is expected to be in the Pacific Northwest, including the Yakima Valley, where about 75 percent of the nation’s hops are grown.

The report was prepared for the International Hop Growers Convention in Paris last month.

The U.S. is widening its gap on hop acreage over second-place producer Germany, which projects its acreage will increase by 10 percent to 45,468 acres.

The U.S. projections are a rough estimate based on interviews with various hop industry figures. A more precise count will be done in June based on a comprehensive survey of growers by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the number bumps up a little more,” said Ann George, executive director of the Moxee, Washington-based Hop Growers of America.

That’s good news in the wake of a record number of craft breweries, which typically use more hops in their beers than industry giants.

Last year, there were 4,269 U.S. craft breweries, well above the previous high of 4,131 breweries dating all the way back to 1873, according to figures from the Brewers Association, a craft beer trade group. The number of breweries also increased by 15 percent from the prior year.

Meanwhile, hop inventory has also increased. As of March 1, the U.S. hop inventory was 131 million pounds, an increase of 10 percent from the same time a year ago. The inventory includes any hops stored by growers, brewers or hop dealers and may be made up of both domestic and internationally-grown hops.

The majority of hops – 88 million pounds, or 67 percent – were held by growers and hop dealers, another indicator of the growing craft beer industry. Craft breweries are generally small and do not have the space to store large amounts of hops. So while they may contract with a hop grower or dealer for a certain amount, they will only have the amount of hops they need immediately shipped and have the grower and/or dealer store the rest, George said.

An increased hop inventory gives the industry a bit of padding to better respond to any market changes that could impact supply in the coming months, George said.

“We’re not continually getting the next order filled and hope we make it to harvest,” she said.