USA, OR: Nearly 20% less of hops planted in Oregon this year

Next week, many of Oregon’s hop farmers will begin their harvest. However, nearly 20% less of their essential crop was planted this year due to declining craft beer sales, the Oregon Beverage Alliance says.

“Beer is usually only four ingredients – water, malt, yeast, and hops, which makes the quality of those ingredients all the more important,” said Sam Pecoraro, brewmaster at Von Ebert Brewing and Secretary of the Oregon Brewers Guild, in a press release.

“We’re lucky to be in the Northwest where nearly all of America’s hops are grown ... but with beer sales down across the country, that significantly impacts our local agricultural community as well as brewers.”

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture via the OBA, hop acreage decreased nationally by -18% from 2023. This statistic is mirrored by Oregon hop growers, who are also down -18% compared to last year.

Oregon has gone from 7,000 hop acres in 2022 to just 5,500 acres now, the OBA claims.

“It’s been tough to say the least with the Oregon hop harvest down -12% last year and now -18% this year,” said fourth-generation hop farmer Erica Lorentz of Sodbuster Farms in the same release. “Sometimes it’s simply a variety of hop going out of style, but now all hops are down because of declining beer sales.”

Oregon, once home to nearly 400 breweries, brewpubs, and taprooms which generated billions in economic output and wage income, has seen widespread closures in recent years.

The Oregon Beverage Alliance has attributed this to changing consumer tastes, with preferences shifting to canned cocktails and cannabis, as well as fewer young people drinking.

Craft beer sales have sunk -2.1% halfway through 2024, according to the U.S. Brewers Association, with no indication of improvement.

Portland, once considered a cornerstone of breweries and beer culture, has seen a spate of brewery closures in recent years - reflecting this trend.

More than 20 breweries closed between 2023 and the first month of 2024, a pattern which continued later into the year.

14 August, 2024