News – HPA

2019 Crop Report

Pixel3 — Mon, 20 May 2019 23:00:16 +0000

After more than a month of cutting, picking, drying and pressing, the numbers are in.

HPA harvested 589 hectares across our three farms in 2019, which resulted in a production volume of 1,482 metric tonnes. This was a 46 hectare (8.5%), 170 metric tonne (13%) increase year-on-year across six proprietary varieties – Ella, Enigma^®, Galaxy^®, Eclipse^®, Topaz and Vic Secret – as well as Cascade and Super Pride. Harvest commenced at the start of March and was completed by mid-April.

All three farms endured major weather events during the growing season. Our Victorian farms – Rostrevor Hop Gardens and Buffalo Valley – experienced extended periods of heatwave conditions through which our irrigation systems performed well, preventing impact on yield. Low rainfall and record overnight temperatures in March led to a slight delay in crop maturation compared to previous years. There is now 175 hectares of land under trellis at Buffalo Valley, 50 hectares of which will be harvested for the first time in 2020.

Tasmania experienced widespread bushfires throughout January when the majority of the crop at Bushy Park Estates was still in burr. Although these conditions did not affect yield, they are indicative of the hot and dry conditions that characterised this season. Bushy Park Estates went without substantial rainfall from the end of December until the end of February, with daytime temperatures climbing above average.

This year’s production volume allowed us to meet contractual obligations across all varieties. We experienced pleasing year-on-year increases in yield across almost all varieties, with a dramatic increase in Enigma attributed to an increase in the average maturity of recent plantings.

Harvest production volumes by variety

Despite an increase in hectares planted and production volume, the highly contracted position of our 2019 crop means that a limited amount of hops will be available in the short-term. HPA are continuing to move forward with our Buffalo Valley expansion to improve supply surety and increase varietal diversity. The $35 million project will include 300 additional hectares and a new harvest complex comprising 12 kiln floors and 2 Daunhauer pickers at completion. It is anticipated to increase our total production by 50% over a period of six years. This is a continuation of HPA’s long-term strategy to grow alongside our customers and support their successes.

Meet the brewer: Ben Kraus, Bridge Road Brewers

Pixel3 — Wed, 07 Aug 2013 23:00:29 +0000

Beechworth mightn’t be your first stop on a craft beer tour of Australia, but our friends at Bridge Road Brewers are definitely worth a visit.

For Head Brewer Ben Kraus, brewing is an evolving experience, and as he becomes familiar with the way our hops work, so to do drinkers of Bridge Road beers.

Since 2005, Ben has built a great reputation for brewing beers with “strong hop content without being extreme” – his words, but we heartily agree.

Ben’s certainly no stranger to our hops; he’s been to Rostrevor Hop Gardens and picked hops alongside our farm manager Allan and his family. But it’s in his beer that Ben’s relationship with our hops comes to light.

Bridge Road recently crafted a single hop 4-pack IPA series featuring some of our most well-known proprietary varieties: Summer, Vic Secret, Ella and Galaxy^®.

Ben says “True expression of one hops’ characteristics can be hard to capture, so single hop beers like the IPA range from Bridge Road go a long way in educating the Aussie drinker on what hops are and how important they are to creating unique flavours”.

To craft these beers, Ben doses by alpha acid content to create that a balanced flavour and aroma profile without too much bitterness.

His role as a ‘brewducator’ is not a new one. As a part of their bar series launch last decade, Bridge Road released a wet hop beer using one of our experimental varieties. It was a departure for Aussie beer, both stylistically and because it challenged the industry to appreciate how great hops produce great flavours.

Given Ben’s love of exploring and learning, it’s no surprise his favourite beer is “the next beer I haven’t tried yet”.

Ben is currently in Italy experimenting with the team at Birra del Borgo crafting an intriguing IPA, hopped with Galaxy^®, Vic Secret and Topaz with a local citrus fruit in the mix for added depth. After a trial run in Italy, the team has plans to relaunch the beer in Beechworth.

The 4-pack IPA series from Bridge Road will be dropping into good beer stores later this year.

Our Aussie hops have stacks of flavour

Pixel3 — Fri, 01 Sep 2023 00:53:02 +0000

Now they have stacks of personality too! The launch of Eclipse^® went so well we decided to treat the rest of our Aussie hops to a brand refresh.

Prepare to feel a sense of nostalgia as you scroll through this short playlist of videos presenting each of our proprietary hop’s fresh new looks.

We’ve also put together a digital media kit of logos, key visuals, data sheets, photography and videography that we encourage you to use when telling your own stories about brewing with our Aussie hops.

We hope you enjoy exploring these exciting new assets as much as we enjoyed making them.

Now is the time to review your hop requirements

Pixel3 — Thu, 03 Sep 2020 12:32:21 +0000

It’s been a rough year for our industry, with many breweries impacted by the unique challenges surrounding COVID-19. As the hop growers in the northern hemisphere enter the throes of hop harvest, the hop growers in the southern hemisphere are seeing their plants emerge from winter dormancy and starting to organise their stringing and training teams. This is a critical time to take stock of your brewery’s situation, so we can adjust production to match likely demand for our crop.

Earlier this year, Brewers Association Supply Chain Specialist Chris Swersey wrote an article explaining why it is so critical to communicate your hop requirements accurately and often. This is a summary of his thoughts.

As we work our way through these uncertain times together, it is important to consider:

Necessary adjustments to your estimated hop demand for the rest of 2020 and 2021.
How much your estimated hop demand differs from the quantities in your contracts.
How many kilograms of each hop variety you will actually need.

Now is the time to share this information with us. The sooner you do, the sooner we can:

Limit the production of hops that brewers will never use, saving resources and reducing process costs.
Rework contracts to accurately reflect future needs that may have changed because of disruption to the brewing industry.
Account for the purchase of spot market hops. This is particularly important for smaller brewers who do not forward contract hops. In these uncertain times, buyers who are otherwise not visible in the form of contracts are assuming extremely high risk in terms of supply surety. While most hops are produced and purchased under contract, a significant quantity are still produced and purchased without contract.

Growers seek to avoid long positions on uncommitted hops since there is a risk they may never sell. Every extra hectare of uncommitted hops imposes an establishment cost on the system. Since brewers are the only buyer of hops, the industry as a whole will ultimately pay these costs, whether the hops are actually purchased or not.

You can help your brewery, your grower and your industry by communicating your hop requirements accurately and often. Your local sales rep is only a call or an email away, and committed to supporting your brewery so you can keep making great beer.

2024 Crop Report

Pixel3 — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 22:31:03 +0000

Hop Products Australia (HPA) have completed this year’s harvest. We picked 670 hectares across Victoria and Tasmania, which resulted in 1,340 tonnes of hops. This was a 177 hectare (21%) decrease and a 480 tonne (26%) decrease year-on-year across six proprietary varieties – Eclipse^®, Ella, Enigma^®, Galaxy^®, Topaz and Vic Secret – as well as Cascade. This year’s oil content came in equal or above the 5-year average for all proprietary hops, with a particularly strong showing from Galaxy^® that should lead to a great year of performance in beer.

Crop 2024 looks a little different to previous years because of some changes to global demand. This led HPA to idle around 20% of our gardens, resulting in a year-on-year decrease across all proprietary hops. In the current state of global oversupply, this was a necessary step toward rebalancing supply and demand.

We have used this production decrease as an opportunity to focus on quality, with greater flexibility to refine our standard operating procedures and harvest each variety at optimal maturity. Impact in beer is expected to remain strong, with this year’s average oil content coming in equal or above the 5-year average for all proprietary hops. The two star performers were Galaxy^® and Enigma^® with both oils and alphas above the 5-year average, ensuring good quality pellets that should deliver a great year of true-to-type flavours and aromas in beer.

HPA continue to invest in quality improvements. As is the case with most building projects, our new Victorian pellet plant took longer than expected to get up and running. It was not commissioned in time to process crop 2024 as planned, but we were prepared for this possibility. Instead, crop 2024 was processed at our existing Victorian pellet plant which was maintained in a state of readiness for this eventuality.

We have also been tightening our minimum quality standards over the past few years, conducting a sensory review of any material flagged as non-conforming at any stage of the production process. If subsequent data analysis reported a significantly lower alpha and oil content, or a significantly higher HSI this material was subject to assessment for potential faults and true-to-type aromas. This process ensures only great material goes into our blends, and consistently high-quality pellets are presented to our brewing customers.

HPA is in awe of the resilience our industry has shown over the past few years. We are managing our production costs to minimise any effect on hop pricing, while continuing to invest in technology, infrastructure and process improvements that will ultimately benefit our brewing customers. In the current state of global oversupply, availability of Aussie hops is better than ever. As supply and demand returns to balance, we encourage our brewing customers to consider their Aussie hop requirements, and communicate them early and often.

How you can bag the best US hops in Australia

jAmieaDMin27 — Sat, 11 Jan 2025 22:00:55 +0000

A fresh crop just landed in our cool store, so let’s talk about why you should shop with HPA to bag the best US hops in Australia and New Zealand. From experience, you know the flavour profile of US hops can differ from year-to-year and lot-by-lot. This is the reality when a large number of independent growers, spread across diverse geography, contribute to the yield of a single variety. Only a few Australian and New Zealand breweries are eligible for US hop selections, with the bulk of our market either contracting modest volumes or preferring to purchase on the spot market. Fortunately, the combined strength of HPA’s hop contracts and spot volumes means that we qualify for selections on behalf of all our brewing customers, big and small.

As regional representative of the global BarthHaas group, HPA’s seat at the John I. Haas selections table is also relatively early compared to our buying size. We’re not right at the front of the line, but we’re pretty close, which gives us the opportunity to select from high-quality lots that very few brewers get to see.

Haas have been growing hops in the Pacific Northwest for four generations. We currently supply a range of 26 different US hops, including 7 commercial releases and 3 experimental varieties from the Hop Breeding Company (HBC). HBC is a joint venture of Haas’, which means HPA have access to the best Citra^®, Mosaic^®, Sabro^®, Ekuanot^®, Talus and Krush, supported by significant quantities. We also have access to the best El Dorado^®because of Haas’ close relationship with CLS Farms.

Haas have been growing Citra^® since 1990, when it was first crossed by their Head Breeder Gene Probasco. Haas bestowed the Citra^® cultivar to HBC in 2005 when there was emerging brewer interest in a citrus variety. Haas Farm Manager Mark Sechser says there’s no one better positioned to grow a high-quality Citra^® crop, “Our practice of propagation through vegetal cuttings ensures virus-free material and true-to-typeness from the time of deployment. You could say we’re growing customer confidence from the ground up.” Haas is anticipating their new farm Longmire Ranch, located in the nearby Wenas Valley, will yield some particularly high-quality hops. Sechser explains “It’s pristine ground that has never been planted with hops, and it’s isolated from the traditional Yakima growing region, so we’re excited about the aroma potential.”

Haas equips HPA with one of the most powerful supply chains in the Yakima Valley. In addition to their internal farms, agronomists and sensory experts, Haas has a team of hop buyers who are intimately connected with growers in the Pacific Northwest. Haas Vice President of Supply Chain Management and Purchasing Pete Mahony says “The close relationships we hold with our growers ensure we receive an accurate insight into quality outcomes as the crop comes into bale receival.” From there, Haas’ panel of 30 sensory experts profile every lot of hops processed over the course of harvest. “This prepares us to run a very disciplined and systematic selections process, where we use the specific aroma profiles we have developed for many of our customers to determine which lots we show them on arrival. When crop outcomes are great, this process is easy. On the flipside, when crop outcomes are sub-optimal for whatever reason, we get to flex our sensory muscles in search of the lot that makes their eyes light up. We have purposefully built relationships with a large cross-section of growers so we always have access to a great range of aromas regardless of whether it’s been a ‘good’ year or a ‘tough’ year in terms of crop outcomes.” says Mahony.

Each year, HPA invite a small group of valued customers to the Haas Innovation Centre in Yakima, Washington to help us source the very best US hops on behalf of Australia and New Zealand. Young Henrys Head Brewer Jesse Searls was part of this group in 2024, saying “It’s a privilege to be in Yakima selecting hops, but to be part of a group that is responsible for securing the very best material for hundreds of brewers back home is very humbling. The fact that HPA actively involve their customers in this process shows how much they value our preferences and opinions. Of course, having hop sensory rockstars, such as Chris Swersey, on our side of the table certainly doesn’t hurt either.”

HPA International Business Development Manager Chris Swersey explains “The selections process involves Haas presenting 5 to 7 bale core samples for each variety based on certain specifications and contract requirements.” According to Searls “Haas take selections really seriously, which instils confidence from the get-go. You can feel the focus in the room once lots start coming out for evaluation.”

At the beginning of selections, we review the lot data and flag anything that could be cause for concern. This includes any statistically high or low results across the key parameters of HSI, alpha content, oil content, and moisture content. Once we have a feel for the material on the table, the process is very similar to how a brewer would assess a beer. Initially, we focus on fault finding. This is a visual assessment where we look for irregularities like lots of leaf and stem or abnormal colouring, as well as a sensory assessment where we look for undesirable qualities such as cheesy, musty, or intense onion and garlic aromas. This process typically allows us to exclude around half the lots on the table.

Once we have the remaining 2 to 3 lovely, bright lots in front of us, the winners are determined based on whether they are true-to-type and overall preference. “These two components are incredibly important for HPA, as we are selecting for hundreds of brewing customers who each have certain expectations of their favourite US hops. Consistently meeting these expectations is mission critical to supporting our brewing customers’ success.” says Swersey. HPA then selects a sufficient quantity of the highest ranked lots to meet total demand in Australia and New Zealand. Often one lot is big enough to fulfil demand, sometimes we need 2 to 3 lots to fulfil demand. Other times we’ll blend two lots to create a more complex mix of sensory attributes we know brewers and drinkers value.

Selections began at a time when there were relatively few hop varieties, as a tool for large brewers to hold US suppliers accountable to a certain level of quality. Today, this level of quality should be expected from any supplier, and US selections have evolved into an industry-wide event that provides valuable feedback to suppliers and growers about which sensory characteristics are important to brewers, as well as helping educate brewers about the complexities of hop growing, processing, analysis and supply. This shared understanding has helped to build stronger relationships between brewers, suppliers and growers.

Searls says “My favourite thing about US hop selections is the ‘watering hole’ moment – that unique sense of community, safety and nourishment you feel when you’re sharing a beer with a bunch of like-minded people from around the world. It makes you realise that beer is a universal language, with a rich history that is intrinsically linked with who we are a species today. It’s just so cool!”

The Haas Innovation Centre is our home away from home during selections. It becomes a hive of activity with heaps of Haas employees happy to share their extensive knowledge over top-notch beers in their beautiful beer garden. Searls attended the Haas Hops Academy on the first day, saying it was “a nice balance of super technical elements and hands-on hop rubbing and blending. They actually held a competition where we were put into teams and tasked with creating the best beer and seltzer blends using Haas’ new liquid hop products. Controversially, my team was robbed of both titles thanks to some passionate lobbying of the voters by one Owen Johnston.” Searls says “Being in Yakima for selections feels like an intravenous injection of knowledge from so many smart people all working in the beer industry. The experience is invaluable. Of course, the social aspect is incredible too.”

HPA is confident that our ‘selected by brewers for brewers’ approach to curating our US portfolio yields the highest quality hops for our brewing customers in Australia and New Zealand, big and small.

Reach out to your HPA sales rep if you’d like to discuss US hops, the selection process, or forward contracting in more detail.

BarthHaas April 2019 Hop Science Report

Pixel3 — Thu, 16 May 2019 23:00:30 +0000

The latest instalment of the Hop Science newsletter has arrived from Dr. Christina Schoenberger of the Barth-Haas Group. With each, we gain an insight into the latest science, innovations and discoveries from research conducted worldwide. See the April 2019 report summary below.

What’s the most effective way of hunting thiols? After applying three different methods of detection, and collating a database of more than 100 newly synthesized sulphur compounds and a total of 300 compounds, these German Researchers learned the most sensitive detector was…their noses.

We’ve always known hops and yeast are good partners, but a group of Dutch Researchers have taken the relationship even further. Looking for a way to increase the production of prenylated flavonoids in different plants (such as hops), without the usual expensive extraction and enrichment processes, the group successfully used yeast to increase the components production.

Are hops affected by terroir? In trying to help brewers find a more consistent aroma and flavour profile in their hops, Belgian researchers illustrate how SNP markers can be used to trace varietal origin, but supplementary biochemical characterisation is still crucial when seeking aromatic consistency.

If you would like to discuss any of these articles further, please get in touch.

International

Owen Johnston

owen.johnston@hops.com.au

0400 126 015

National, NSW & ACT

Michael Capaldo

michael.capaldo@hops.com.au

0490 441 090

TAS & NZ

Adrian Ianculovici

adrian.ianculovici@hops.com.au

0498 648 770

WA, SA & NT

Brad Nolen

brad.nolen@hops.com.au

0417 397 364

QLD

Simeon Bonetti

simeon.bonetti@hops.com.au

0490 489 007

VIC

Phil Rutjens

phil.rutjens@hops.com.au

0421 944 849

Meet the brewer: Brad Rogers, Stone & Wood

Pixel3 — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 23:00:21 +0000

Stone & Wood’s Director and Chief Brewer Brad Rogers really knows his Galaxy.

He recognises “Galaxy^® is a huge part of Pacific Ale and Pacific Ale is a huge part of our Stone & Wood brewing business. What I really love about Galaxy^® is that you can open a bag of hops to smell next to a bottle of Pacific Ale, show people, and they reference the aroma in the bag and in the beer instantly.”

High in oils and bitterness, Brad describes Galaxy^® as an “all-rounder you can use as a bittering hop early in the brew-house kettle and also late in the fermenter to get the aromatics, where it has a very floral, tropical flavour of passionfruit and paw paw”.

By no means a hop monogamist, Brad enjoys “the fruit salad of different hops” from our gardens. Stone & Wood’s Garden Ale limited release offers a real opportunity to experiment with the hops. When using Summer and Ella he found they have a very aromatic, strong oil content which pulled flavours out that people can really detect.

Brewing since the early 90s, Brad’s crafted a number of brews allowing him to experiment with many different hops, malts, water and yeasts. Brad prefers to let the hops express themselves individually, so you really get a sense of the hop characters.

Whatever the method, Brad’s aim is always to make beer that’s really drinkable. He just wants people to enjoy craft beer.

In Brad’s fridge right now, you can find beers from the UK & Germany after a recent trip to the other side, including Fullers and Camden Brewery beers, as well as some home grown Stone & Wood Pacific Ale and Stone Beer. You’ll find Brad and his fridge in Byron Bay, living the dream.

BarthHaas Report 2021/2022

Pixel3 — Mon, 01 Aug 2022 06:20:25 +0000

Each year BarthHaas publish timely statistics on global hop and brewing industries, as well as insights into the latest agronomic and economic trends. It is one constant in a market that is always changing.

If you want to get straight to the details, you can…

Download BarthHaas Report 2021/2022 (PDF)

…or you can read our summary below.

In 2021, both global hop acreage and global hop production increased. This is the eighth consecutive year of acreage growth, which is led by the US and Germany who account for 73 percent of global hop acreage. While Australia is responsible for a relatively small portion of global hop production, HPA’s Victorian farm expansion is adding to this statistic. This year marked a significant milestone, with the completion of an AUD$35million capital expansion project that involved planting 300 new hectares of in-demand Aussie hops like Eclipse^®, Galaxy^® and Vic Secret.

The global pivot towards flavour and aroma varieties has resulted in record high alpha acid levels for the third year in a row. Accordingly, our Aussie hops impact in beer is expected to remain strong, with oil content equal or above the 5-year average for all varieties. Read our full crop report here.

Above-average production volumes have led to oversupply of the market. This has become apparent through the decrease in longer-term hop contracts, and the increase in restructuring hop contracts and delaying call-offs. This surplus, coupled with an unprecedented increase in production costs, is a dangerous combination that will have to be addressed through immediate acreage adjustments.

It is likely the beer industry will shift towards equilibrium once the hospitality industry eases back into normal operating hours around the world, but the lasting effects of coronavirus are still creating production delays, supply shortages and cost increases. These challenges have only been intensified by the conflict in Ukraine, imposed by Russia.

Global beer consumption did not collapse as much as initially predicted, with many countries experiencing a significant recovery in 2021. Consequently, global beer production increased by 4 percent, but is yet to return to pre-pandemic levels.

While some hops are in surplus, Aussie hops continue to enjoy strong demand from brewers everywhere. This means crop 2023 is heavily contracted, and brewers are encouraged to communicate their Aussie hop requirements to our sales team and enter into rolling hop contracts for supply security.

A bit about BarthHaas:

HPA are regional representatives of the global BarthHaas group, which is the world’s largest supplier of hop products and services.

BarthHaas operates across all continents, providing support to its members along the whole value supply chain: from breeding and growing through to processing and the marketing of hops and hop products.

Their innovation centres, Barth Innovations in the UK and Haas Innovations in the US, are dedicated to research and development. We have access to their results, which means our customers can take advantage of the full potential of hops. Because your beer is our passion.

Eclipse is a contender for rookie hop of the year in 2021

Pixel3 — Tue, 01 Dec 2020 07:22:33 +0000

Appellation Beer has named 3 contenders for rookie hop of the year in 2021. They are pitting Talus from the US against Nectaron^® from New Zealand and our own Eclipse^®from Australia. This means we can supply our customers with two of the three next big things in brewing.

Talus, formerly known as HBC 438, was created by the Hop Breeding Company (HBC) that created Sabro^®, Mosaic^® and Citra^®. The daughter of Sabro^®and open pollination, Talus delivers a delicious array of aromas including pink grapefruit, citrus rind, dried rose, pine resin, tropical fruit and sage. It’s very likely beer drinkers will see plenty of single hop IPAs featuring Talus next year, but it also plays well with others in styles such as lagers, pale ales and IPAs. The name is a nod to the talus slopes in the Yakima Valley. HBC is a partnership between Yakima Chief Ranches and HAAS. As the regional representative of HAAS we have crop 2019 Talus available now, with crop 2020 landing on our shores very soon.

Eclipse^®, formerly known as HPA-016, was created by our own hop breeding program in Australia. It’s bursting with sweet mandarin, zesty citrus peel and fresh pine needles, and has already shown it stands up in a range of beer styles including XPAs, Pilsners, Wits, Dark Ales, Saisons, IPAs and NEIPAs. The name is a double entendre, with a celestial reference to its sister Galaxy^® as well as a flavour reference to its big, bold impact in beer. Ash Hazell, Head of Brewing at Colonial Brewing Co, used Eclipse^® back when it was still an experimental hop. He says “the best beer I ever brewed was Pioneer. It was a 7.5% IPA using a foolish amount of [Eclipse^®] in the hop-back and dry-hopping. The full spectrum of hop character we extracted was unreal.” Crop 2020 Eclipse^® is currently only available to Australian brewers in commercial quantities, but it will start to reach the rest of the world from crop 2021.

Contact your local sales rep to secure your supply of Talus or Eclipse^® today.