This year, Hop Products Australia (HPA) picked 566 hectares across Victoria and Tasmania, which resulted in 1,468 tonnes of hops. This was a 128 tonne (9.5%) increase despite a 104 hectare ( 15.5%) decrease across six proprietary hops – Eclipse®, Ella™, Enigma®, Galaxy®, Topaz™ and Vic Secret™ – as well as Cascade.
Global demand for hops remains soft in the current oversupply situation, which led HPA to idle 32% of their gardens. HPA’s CEO Owen Johnston said “This production decrease allowed us to extend our focus to sustainability initiatives including soil remediation, cover cropping, cycling aging rootstock, and scaling up leading experimental hops in our breeding program for commercial brewing trials.”
Click on the video above or HERE for more insights into this year’s Aussie Hop Crop
Impact in beer is expected to remain strong, with oil content coming in slightly below or equal to the 5-year average for most proprietary hops. The star performer this year was Ella™, with both oils and alphas above the 5-year average.
Mr Johnston told the Asia Brewers Network “Brewers should expect a real depth of flavour and complexity when pairing Ella™ with other new world hops.” Eclipse®, Galaxy® and Vic Secret™ all experienced a slight decrease in alphas, and are expected to produce some well-balanced beers with true-to-type flavours and aromas.
HPA’s mission is to deliver the highest possible quality, with the lowest possible flavour variability. For the past two crop years they have worked alongside their sister company John I. Haas to exclude material that is not true-to-type from their blends, which are based on the whole-crop averages for oils, alphas, moisture and HSI.
Commissioning Hop Central has set an even higher standard, harnessing cold chain bale storage, temperature-controlled production rooms, and modern pelleting and packaging equipment.
HPA’s Processing Facility Manager Michael Monshing said “Hop Central has significantly reduced our processing time while maximising oils in the finished pellets and minimising oxygen in the foils. It’s all in the name of consistent impact in beer.”
The entire industry, from growers and suppliers to brewers, is facing countless challenges because of unfavourable bureaucratic, economic and environmental conditions.
Mr Johnston said “It’s more important than ever for HPA to work in partnership with our brewing customers. Communicating early and often is the best way to ensure we have your needs covered, whether that be availability of proprietary hops for core range beers, commercialising experimental hops for flavour diversity, or innovative hop products for more sustainable beverages. HPA stands ready to help brewers create awesome flavours that bring hoppiness to beer lovers everywhere.”
