A shift in varieties is a key reason U.S. hop acreage is down by about 8% from 2022,  industry representatives say.

The declines were lower in Idaho and slightly higher in Oregon and industry leader Washington, according to a June 5 USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service report.

“We certainly are seeing a plateau in demand for aroma varieties, and that explains the curtailment of supply in that arena,” said Maggie Elliot, science and communications director for Hop Growers of America and the Washington Hop Commission.

Meanwhile, acres of alpha hops, associated with bitterness in beer, are increasing.

“Some of our most notable varieties have very destabilized acreages,” she said.

Citra accounts for the most Northwest hop acres, followed by Mosaic. Both are aroma varieties.

“Those two varieties account for about 90% of the acreage reduction we are seeing this season,” Elliot said.

After years of increasing proportionately, the aroma hop market is oversupplied, while the alpha market is balanced, she said. That is a factor in the transition to alpha, as is the concentrated nature of world hop supply.

Germany, a major alpha producer, grows about 37% of the world’s supply of hops, Elliot said. The U.S. grows about 40%.

Drought last year in Germany “reduced their yield by about half,” she said. “That greatly reduced available alpha in the market.”

In the U.S., where much more of the hop crop is irrigated, “many entities saw an opportunity,” Elliot said.

Northwest growers over the past decade emphasized the aroma market, “Oregon being a player because of climate,” said Michelle Palacios, executive director of the state’s hop commission.

The shift to alpha is a factor in the state’s acreage decline, she said. Oregon growers typically do not string first-year or “baby” hops — most are grown on a three-foot stake for development purposes and not harvested, and some occasionally are placed on a single string.

Though Oregon strung acreage of the perennial crop is down, “there is some enthusiasm. There are still things happening,” Palacios said. “Growers are responding to brewer demand.”

The shift out of aroma acres occurred as some contracts were not renewed and growers chose not to fill trellises with those hops, said Bo Isham, a crop consultant based in Homedale, Idaho.

The variety shift differs by farm but in general may reflect over-planting of certain proprietary varieties earlier, said Oliver Schroeder, who grows hops near Wilder, Idaho. Craft beers tend to use more aroma hops, which typically are proprietary, while domestic beers have more alphas.

“And the economic forces of the pandemic, inflation and things like that have changed people’s spending habits,” Schroeder said. Domestics typically cost less per unit.

U.S. hop acres strung for harvest are forecast to be down 8% to 54,718, according to USDA. Acreage is expected to be down by 9% in Washington to 38,993, down 5% in Idaho to 8,832 and down 11% in Oregon to 6,893.