U.S. hops strung for harvest this season are forecast at 44,543 acres, an 18% drop compared to 2023, according to a new USDA report.

“Our industry is certainly entering a really challenging period of market correction. It’s a pretty drastic reduction,” said Maggie Elliot, science and communications director for the Washington Hop Commission and Hop Growers of America.

In 2023, hop acreage dropped 10%, according to the USDA.

Michelle Palacios, Oregon Hops Commission administrator, said the figure was disappointing but expected.

Washington, the leading U.S. hops producer, will drop 15% to 32,982 acres.

Idaho had 5,970 acres strung for harvest, down 31% from 2023.

Oregon growers strung 5,591 acres for harvest this season, down 18%.

U.S. hop acreage has surged in the past decade, according to Hop Growers of America data. In 2013, the country had about 35,000 acres of hops. Growers reached 50,000 acres in 2016 and surpassed 60,000 acres in 2021.

Hop overabundance

Experts said there’s a worldwide hops glut and the Pacific Northwest, which produces nearly all the U.S. crop, possesses an overabundance.

During the pandemic, many people couldn’t go to breweries or restaurants, which led to extra supply. Huge harvests followed just as the craft beer industry plateaued.

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Domestic beer sales dropped 3.1% in 2022, according to the U.S. Brewers Association.

“Markets in the European Union are not reducing their acreage. Largely, it’s American growers who are bearing the burden,” Elliot said.

Some Northwest hop farmers are idling hop yards waiting for better days, with others tearing out trellises.

“In Idaho, a lot of growers are transitioning temporarily to growing seed vegetable crops,” Elliot said, adding that Washington farmers are turning to Concord grapes or planting corn.

Business opportunities

Oversupply can create opportunities for brewers who can warehouse beer-making ingredients, Palacios said.

“There are certainly merchants trying to move hops and having flash sales,” she added.

Not all brewers have ample storage space, and such a move could be risky in a soft market.

Elliot said many brewers are trying to sell back excess hops at reduced rates. “For the most part, brewers have too many hops on their hands,” she added.

Top hop varieties

The top hop varieties by acreage for 2024, accounting for 50% of area strung for harvest, are Citra, Columbus/Tomahawk/Zeus, Mosaic, Simcoe and Cascade.

Four leading varieties are dual purpose hops used primarily for craft brewing while CTZ is a high alpha hop that imparts bitterness and is often used in extract for export.

More growers have turned to high alpha hops, in part for foreign markets.

But alpha hops are also more economical, so craft brewers watching bottom lines may use the inexpensive ingredients for bittering, Palacios said.

The past season, CTZ overtook Citra as the No. 1 hop by production, with 15.8 million pounds.

Thanks to the high yielding high alpha varieties, hops production grew 2% in 2023, according to a USDA report from December.

CTZ appears set to retain its hop production crown, despite a decline of 13.6% to 5,488 acres.

That’s because Citra area strung for harvest plummeted by 24.5% to 6,720 acres in the Pacific Northwest, according to the latest report.