USA, WA: Northwest hop industry growth driven by craft beer sales

Growing consumer demand for craft beers helped make 2013 a good year for Northwest hop farmers. A new report from the US Department of Agriculture shows hop production in the Northwest grew by 13 percent in 2013, OPB News reported on December 31.

Farmers not only grew more, but they also got paid more per pound. The total value of the 2013 crop was around $250 million. That’s up nearly 30 percent from the year before.

Larry Sidor has been buying Northwest hops for nearly four decades. He’s the head brewer and a partner at Bend’s Crux Fermentation Project. He says the rise of craft beer has been a boon for farmers since many of those beers require not only more hops, but varieties that are more expensive.

Most US hops are grown in Washington, which represents nearly 80 percent of all domestic production.

03 January, 2014