USA: Organic hops production tripled in 2012

Organic hops used to be a rare crop. So rare, in fact, that the rule makers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture decided in 2007 that organic hops weren’t necessary to make certified organic beer, Yahoo News reported on June, 11.

Now the situation has changed. As of January, every beer ingredient has to be organic to earn a brewer organic certification, and the resulting growth in the organic hops industry is a boon to farmers interested in cultivating this unusual, high-value crop.

Most of today’s craft beer relies on an American-bred variety known as the Cascade hops.

Like the name implies, most Cascade hops are grown in the Pacific Northwest. In fact, Washington’s Yakima Valley has become the heart of hops farming. As recently as 2010, only 100 acres of the 30,000 acres of hops in the valley were grown organically.

But according to The American Organic Hop Grower Association, the total pounds of organic hops produced by their member growers tripled last year, growing from 70,000 pounds in 2011 to 218,000 pounds in 2012. A full 10 percent of the hops grown in the U.S. are now certified organic (around double that of the average crop).

12 June, 2013