Remember the dire days eight years ago when demand for hops outdid supply and many craft brewers were struggling to acquire the hops they needed? Not so today, as beer sales have flattened and hop growers are responding by planting fewer vines in the fields due to an expected oversupply of hops.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s latest hop report, acreage strung for harvest in 2024 is forecast at 44,543 acres, down 18% from last year’s total of 54,318 acres.
Broken down by state, Washington was down 15%, Idaho down 51% and Oregon down 18%.
The top five hop varieties strung for harvest in the United States this year are Citra, Columbus/Tomahawk R/Zeus (CTZ), Mosaic, Simcoe and Cascade. These five varieties account for 50 percent of the total U.S. acreage strung for harvest.
Also of note is that organic hop acreage strung for harvest in 2024 is 476 acres, down 25 percent from 2023.
You can see the full USDA report here.