USA, PA: Growing craft beer sector expected to drive new hop production in Pennsylvania

The 350-plus craft breweries in Pennsylvania could use the hops from at least 1,000 acres of hop production in the state, while Pennsylvania farmers have just a bit more than 100 acres in the slanted poles used to grow the hop vines, pennlive.com reported.

“The number of hop farms in a state is related to the number of craft breweries,” explained Claudia Schmidt, assistant professor of agricultural economics. Her study “suggests that in areas where hop production is possible and not cost-prohibitive, breweries are expanding markets for farmers and providing an opportunity to diversify farm income.”

Hops are a key ingredient in beer production, providing aroma and bittering characteristics.

In the late 1800s New York was producing most of the U.S. hops, while there were significant hop yards – the industry name for the areas where hops are grown – in Pennsylvania. Increasing diseases and insect pest sent the eastern industry into decline. Prohibition in 1920 killed any remaining demand for hops in the east, where shipping to international markets was not as feasible.

From the mid-1900s to earlier this century, U.S. hop production in the U.S. occurred almost entirely in the Pacific Northwest states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho.

The growing craft brewery industry, with new demand for locally sourced ingredients, has now spread hops growing into 29 states.

Using data from the U.S. Census of Agriculture and from ReferenceUSA, the researchers found that from 2007 to 2017, the number of breweries in the U.S. more than quadrupled from 992 to more than 4,000, and that the number of breweries in a state is associated with more hop farms and hop acres five years later. The national number of hop farms grew from 68 to 817, and hop acreage expanded from 31,145 to 59,429 acres.

“This growth has not only led to interesting changes in the locations of hop farms across the U.S., but it has positioned the U.S. as the largest producer of hops globally, both in terms of acreage and production,” said Elizabeth Dobis, a postdoctoral scholar at the Penn State-based Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development and lead author of the study.

A possible explanation for the trend is that the growing consumer demand for locally sourced food and beverages encourages craft brewers to seek out locally grown ingredients, said Schmidt.

“While most craft breweries serve a local market, they haven’t always sourced local ingredients for their beers,” she noted. “But if you’re a brewer looking to differentiate yourself in an increasingly crowded market, sourcing ingredients locally is an approach that some brewers have found to be effective.”

In a separate study, Penn State Extension’s Kristy Borrelli and Maria Graziani conducted focus groups with Pennsylvania craft brewers, who reported that sourcing ingredients locally helps them connect with their customers’ sense of place and preference for a flavor profile that is unique to their region.

If more brewers are looking for hops grown nearby, then more farmers may be willing to try growing them, even if only on a small scale.

In Pennsylvania only 17 farms reported hop production in 2017, and their combined acreage was just 21 acres, according to the U.S. Census of Agriculture, which placed that number at 100 acres last year.

Next up the researchers hope to determine the specific attributes and price points that Pennsylvania craft brewers are looking for in order to help inform farmers’ production decisions.

06 March, 2020