HPA News – HPA

2021 Crop Report

Pixel3 — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 22:57:47 +0000

We have completed the 2021 hop harvest, picking 675 hectares that resulted in 1,526 metric tonnes of hops. This was a 44 hectare (6.9%) increase and a 25 metric tonne (1.6%) decrease year-on-year. Despite total yield coming in slightly under expectation, our Galaxy^® yield grew 7.2% year-on-year. We’re excited to share this marks 11 years of continuous growth, with the exception of 2016 when we were hit with significant hail damage.

Eclipse^® looks set to follow in Galaxy^®’s footsteps after exceeding expectations in its second year of commercialisation. Sustainably scaling up Eclipse^®, Galaxy^® and Vic Secret has been the focus of a continuing $35 million expansion in Victoria that will take our total farming operations to more than 800 hectares at completion. All additional acreage will reach commercial maturity by 2024, at which point Eclipse^® is forecast to reach 180 metric tonnes, making it our third biggest proprietary hop.

Impact in beer remains strong, with this year’s average oil content coming in above the 5-year average for all varieties except Enigma^®. These high quality outcomes are on track to continue now we have restructured the business to create a division of Agronomic Services with the purpose of improving yield, quality, and efficiencies across our farming operations. This is an extension of our strategy to grow alongside brewing customers by continuing to offer choice and diversity through the commercialisation of experimental varieties, and supporting successful beers by backing our more popular Aussie hops with significant acreage.

The highly contracted position of crop 2021 means that a very limited amount of hops will be available in the short-term. This situation, together with our expansion project drawing to a close, suggests that forward contracting is now more important than ever for supply security. Brewers are encouraged to communicate their Aussie hop needs sooner rather than later.

2020 Crop Report

Pixel3 — Thu, 30 Apr 2020 11:07:46 +0000

After more than a month of cutting, picking, drying, pressing, pelletising and packaging, the numbers are in. HPA harvested 631 hectares across our three farms in 2020, which resulted in a production volume of 1,554 metric tonnes. This was a 42 hectare (7.1%), 81 metric tonne (5.5%) increase year-on-year across six proprietary varieties – Ella, Enigma, Galaxy, HPA-016, Topaz and Vic Secret – as well as Cascade and Super Pride. Harvest commenced at the start of March and was completed by early April.

The 5.5% increase in overall production volume will allow us to meet all contractual obligations. Yield was a bit of a mixed bag this year. There were some individual performances that exceeded expectations, including notable increases in Galaxy and Topaz as well as a bumper crop of HPA-016 in its first year of commercialisation. We’re particularly looking forward to placing this in the hands of as many brewers as possible in the coming years. The rest of the varieties were down, but stayed within the normal range of variation. This was due to the conditions during the growing season rather than reductions in acreage.

Despite an increase in hectares planted and production volume, the highly contracted position of our 2020 crop means that a limited amount of hops will be available in the short-term. We are continuing to move forward with our Buffalo River Valley expansion to improve supply surety and increase varietal diversity.

The BarthHaas Group Commits to Science Based Targets Initiative

jAmieaDMin27 — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 21:54:34 +0000

The BarthHaas Group joins global movement for climate action by committing to set a near-term emissions reduction target with the Science Based Targets initiative.

Thursday 12 February 2026. The BarthHaas Group has reaffirmed their commitment to a sustainable future of high-quality beer and beyond. The world’s leading supplier of hops, innovative hop products and hop-related services has joined a global community of more than 11,000 companies that are taking meaningful action on climate change. They have committed to set a near-term science-based targets aligned with the 1.5°C pathway, the most ambitious level defined by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to keep global warming below catastrophic levels.

“This reflects our long-standing commitment to sustainable innovation and our responsibility to reduce emissions in line with the latest climate science,” said Laxmi Pandit, Sustainability Manager at John I. Haas. As part of its commitment, BarthHaas will follow the SBTi rule that Scope 1 and 2 targets must cover at least 95% of corporate emissions under operational control. Also, since value-chain emissions often dominate agricultural and processing industries, BarthHaas will also establish a Scope 3 target in line with SBTi requirements.

BarthHaas’ Global Sustainability Group is creating greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories and calculating their minimum decarbonization requirements. “We see global group-wide collaboration as an opportunity to advance our sustainability efforts through shared knowledge and complementary resources” said Christian Kammerer, Global Sustainability Coordinator for the BarthHaas group. The next step will be preparing a draft emission reduction roadmap with a 5–10 year target timeframe from the base year that will be submitted to the SBTi for approval later this year.

Different measures will take precedence across the BarthHaas group’s different sites. Some sites are focused on using production waste as biological fuel for heat generation and on expanding photovoltaic systems to generate green electricity. Other sites are considering merging production facilities to leverage synergies and recover process gases. “Horticultural productivity both impacts and is impacted by the changing climate. This makes mitigation
and adaptation key to the continued supply of high-quality hops. Our SBTi commitment will enable us to define decarbonization strategies that are appropriate for our sector. We see great potential for emissions reduction, particularly in the use of renewable energy sources.” said George Webster, Sustainability Manager at Hop Products Australia. Intensified cooperation with suppliers is also on the agenda to align with SBTi targets. Customers and stakeholders will be able to track progress through annual climate reporting via CDP, meeting SBTi’s requirements for transparent annual disclosure.

The SBTi is a collaboration between the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the World Resources Institute (WRI), and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) that enables companies worldwide to play their part in combating the climate crisis. They have developed standards, tools and guidance that allow companies to set emission reduction targets in line with climate science.

“By aligning with the SBTi, the BarthHaas group intends to set an ambitious emission reduction target, and we encourage others in our industry to make a similar commitment. Together, we can help reduce global emissions and build a better future for our planet, our communities, and our customers” said Tamanda Whittle, Quality and Sustainability Liaison Coordinator for BarthHaas UK.

New technology separating the boys from the girls

Pixel3 — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 23:00:33 +0000

Hops are dioecious, which means there are male and female plants. Only the mature, unfertilised cones of the female plants are harvested for use in beer, as they produce the yield of acids and essential oils that brewers value for their bittering and aromatic properties. Male plants are used when hop breeders wish to cross varieties and develop new cultivars. The resulting hop seedlings can include male, hermaphrodite and female plants.

HPA have been collaborating with a host of institutions to advance Diversity Arrays Technology (DArT) molecular marker technology that will allow hop breeders to identify desireable sex phenotypes earlier in the growth cycle than ever before. This technology will not reduce the time it takes to create, identify and develop a new cultivar. But it will allow us to remove non-target sex phenotypes from the nursery, rather than deploying plants in-field for a minimum of 6 months before being able to determine their sex phenotype. As a result, in-field trials will be more efficient in evaluating individual plants and crossing success.

The research was undertaken by scientists at the Slovenian Institute of Hop Research and Brewing, who selected male specific DNA sequences from an international hop industry DArT collaboration to evaluate their suitability for determining the sex phenotype among seedlings. Nine male specific DArT markers showed complete linkage with the male sex phenotype in three crossing families. Following optimisation, four were successfully converted from DArT to Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) markers. From 197 seedlings, there was variable correlation with sex phenotypic data for the individual PCR marker amplifications. By integrating the different markers into a single ‘multiplex’ reaction, they achieved a 100% positive correlation with sex phenotypic data.

To apply this technique to hop breeding program operations it needs to be accurate, fast and cost efficient since it would involve screening hundreds or even thousands of seedlings. To develop a fast and low-cost method, a crude sample DNA extraction technique followed by multiplex PCR was evaluated in 253 seedlings from 14 segregating populations, with no loss of accuracy. The study describes, for the first time, the routine application of molecular markers linked to male sex phenotypes in an intensive Slovenian hop breeding program. The methods described could be employed for screening of sex phenotypes at the seedling stage in other hop programs worldwide, thereby saving resources for desirable female plants.

Click here to read to complete article.

Using hop analyses to optimise the brewing process

Pixel3 — Thu, 21 May 2020 11:21:48 +0000

They say there’s no such thing as a bad beer, but some do taste better than others. We take pride in our hops, and the beers our customers create with them. That’s why quality management is so important to us. We have a range of quality management procedures in place to ensure our farms and facilities are ISO 9001:2015 compliant and HACCP certified. This includes analysing around 3,000 hop samples over the course of harvest, which contribute to more than 25,000 measurements that help us meet customer expectations of consistent hop flavour outcomes year-on-year.

Understanding pre and post-harvest hop analysis is key to producing beer of consistent quality. Hops are a natural ingredient produced by a highly specialised horticultural system in temperate regions around the world, which means they are subject to seasonal variation. Hop analyses give hop growers and brewers alike the opportunity to optimise their processes to achieve consistency and efficiency. This is a very technical topic, so if you don’t have the time or capacity to digest it right now, reach out to your local Sales Rep and they’ll talk you through the high points.

For those of you still with us, the hop sampling and measurement process spans a period of six months. During this time, we go through three phases on quality testing – pre-harvest in-field samples, harvest bale samples and post-harvest packaged product samples:

Pre-harvest sampling tracks the development of hop cones and the accumulation of alpha acids and essential oils across our farms. We systematically sample every paddock across our farms at least three times pre-harvest, with the final sample taking place within 36 hours of the paddock being harvested. The information we receive from these samples confirms whether our planning around harvest logistics is correct, and informs the picking sequence for varieties that cover significant acreage. This picking sequence ensures we capture the best possible representation of each variety year-on-year.

We input proprietary predictive models into a Near-infrared (NIR) analytical system to assess the samples’ alpha acids and oil content. Gland fill, dry matter and cone weight are also measured at this stage. All of these measurements follow a fairly consistent pattern of development in the lead up to harvest, which occurs when the paddock reaches our ideal values. The below graph and associated heatmap provide a visual representation of the day in year that these values are typically reached. However, events such as hot and windy days, heavy rain, flooding or frost can accelerate development.

During harvest we take several composite samples from each lot of hops once they have been baled. Alpha acids and moisture content are the main focus at this point with all measurements produced through NIR. This is crucial to the blending process that enables us to achieve consistent quality outcomes for each variety year-on-year.

Post-harvest we conduct further testing on each lot of final packaged product, including pellets and flowers. The information we receive from these tests is what brewers see on our certificates of analysis (CoAs).

Brewers can use CoAs to anticipate process changes required to achieve consistent brewing results, and to verify compliance with hop specifications. Our hops are supplied in sealed, oxygen barrier laminated foils that have been back-flushed with carbon dioxide and packed in cardboard cartons. Each carton is labelled with variety, producer, crop year, production date, lot identification number, product type, net weight and bittering potential (alpha acid contents and analysis method). There is no standardisation of hop CoA information in the brewing industry. In their most basic form a CoA will cover the same information as the carton labels, but we also choose to include essential oil content, moisture content and agricultural chemical residue reporting.

Each hop analysis has a different siginificance in brewing:

Since hops that are used in brewing are a food ingredient we are required to ensure all typical food safety requirements are met, and can also provide allergen and residue statements if required.

It is also important to remember that hop CoAs and label information describe the hops at the time of packaging. Chemical changes that affect performance in beer may occur if the hops are transported, stored and/or handled improperly at any stage of the supply chain. We work closely and collaboratively with our contractors to ensure this risk is managed effectively, so that our customers can continue making great tasting beer.

More flavour hops for Australia

Pixel3 — Thu, 19 Sep 2019 23:00:23 +0000

Shifting consumer preferences are encouraging brewers to experiment more than ever before, which has stimulated hop breeding activity around the world, and profoundly changed the use of hops in brewing.

Historically, HPA grew and traded mostly bittering hops. In the late 1960s a dedicated Hop Breeding Program was initiated to improve alpha acid yield. Then the beginning of the craft movement saw beer drinkers move toward more flavour, aroma and diversity. This led to a second stage of the Program aimed at breeding flavour hops for the Australian climate. Since the 1990s, the Program has commercialised five proprietary varieties – Ella, Enigma, Galaxy, Topaz and Vic Secret – with a sixth scheduled to be released exclusively to the Australian market in 2020.

Shift from alpha to aroma.

Demand for our proprietary varieties continues to climb in conjunction with the hopping rate, as heavily hopped craft beers begin to increase in popularity.

Impact of craft beer movement on hopping rate in the US.

HPA is dedicated to bringing our supply in line with brewers’ demand, so that we can grow alongside our customers and support their success. We have recently broken ground on a new harvest facility that forms part of a $35 million expansion at Buffalo River Valley in Victoria. This investment in capacity increases will help to improve supply surety as well as increase varietal diversity. At completion in 2024, the project is expected to increase total production by 50%.

Forecast production volume.

We will be consistently increasing the proportion of our production volume contracted to Australian breweries as we grow, from 28% of total hops contracted in 2019 to 37% in 2021. This will not only ensure that we are looking after our own backyard, but will also help to reduce our carbon footprint.

Percentage of production volume contracted to Australian breweries.

We now supply New Zealand varieties grown by Clayton Hops

Pixel3 — Tue, 14 Jul 2020 12:26:00 +0000

As the specialist hop supplier in Australia, we’re always looking to grow our portfolio to offer our customers even greater choice and diversity. For years we’ve been aware of the opportunity on our doorstep, but our commitment to provide quality hops backed by supply surety meant we needed to wait for the right conditions to come along. And so, we’re excited to announce that we now supply Motueka, Pacifica, Rakau and Riwaka grown by Clayton Hops.

Clayton Hops, a shareholder of the NZ Hops co-operative, is owned and operated by the Clayton brothers – Andrew, Glen and Brian – with the support of their respective partners Rebecca, Sara and Sarah. Andrew and Glen run the farms while Brian looks after sales and marketing. The three brothers grew up together on the family farm on the rugged but beautiful West Coast of the South Island, a mere two hour drive from their hop farms. As a result, they’ve developed an innovative, customer-driven, make-it-happen mindset, and they don’t mind having a bit of fun along the way.

They are the biggest hop growers in the country with four farms totalling 200 hectares in Nelson, the hop growing heartland of New Zealand. But the Clayton’s have even bigger plans in store. Clayton Hops are already in the process of converting prime farming land over the coming years, which will more than double their hop gardens to around 500 hectares in total.

Their farming practices, picking, drying and pressing processes are all state of the art to ensure the highest possible quality. We’re really looking forward to placing these very special, highly aromatic hops in the hands of our brewing customers:

Motueka – a crowd favourite that has a fresh crushed citrus, mojito-like character with notes of lemon-lime and tropical fruit.
Pacifica – a lovely aroma hop with a spicy dried fruit or delicate orange marmalade character.
Rakau – a popular dual purpose hop with a ripe stone fruit character and bright notes of grapefruit.
Riwaka – a unique aroma hop with a big tropical passionfruit character.

If you like the sound of any of these flavour profiles, get in touch with your local Sales Rep today:

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

HPA is expanding to meet brewer demand

Pixel3 — Tue, 22 Jan 2019 22:00:13 +0000

We have planted the first 50 hectares at our new farm in Victoria’s Buffalo River Valley. This is just the beginning of a $35 million expansion project that aims to increase total hop production by 50% over a period of six years.

Approximately 300 new hectares will be planted, as well as the construction of a new harvest complex comprising two Daunhauer pickers and 12 kiln floors at completion.

The project is focused on increasing supply of our proprietary hop varieties, in particular Galaxy^® and Eclipse^®, to allow us to grow with our Australian and international brewers.

We will also be expanding their team to help ensure regular communication and manage future contracting. Sales and Marketing Manager, Owen Johnston, says “the new farm will increase hop supply surety, varietal diversity and flexibility to meet brewer demand”.

The first crop from the Buffalo Valley Farm will be harvested in 2020. To enquire about future contracting get in touch with your local sales representative or contact sales@hops.com.au.

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.

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

Michael Capaldo joins the team

Pixel3 — Wed, 20 Dec 2017 22:00:58 +0000

We’re excited to announce the former Sydney Brewery and Lovedale Brewery Head Brewer is our newest sales rep.

In this role, Michael will be working to provide on-the-ground support to brewers across News South Wales and Queensland, and expanding the team of Sales and Marketing Manager, Owen Johnston.

We’re excited to have Michael on board, so we can provide better service and support to our brewers based in Canberra, Queensland and New South Wales and provide a level of technical advice.

Michael brings with him a decade of experience in the craft beer industry, working initially as a packaging assistant with Little Creatures, he grew into a production brewing role with Gage Roads while completing a Graduate Diploma of Brewing through Edith Cowan University. Eventually, taking the reins as head brewer for Sydney Brewery and Lovedale Brewery.

While at Lovedale, Michael led the team to winning coveted trophies at the Australian International Beer Awards and Royal Sydney Show within it’s very first year of operation in 2014.

On making the jump to HPA, Michael says, “As a brewer, I’ve had experience working with Australian hops and I’m incredibly excited to play a bigger role in providing these flavours to other beer brands that I know and love”.

“Coming from the production side, I understand the needs and requirements of HPA customers and can provide practical knowledge and insight to get the best outcome. I’m ready to get out in front of the industry, and work to get great Australian hops into great Australian brewed beers.”

The appointment of a committed Sales Representative for the ACT, QLD and NSW comes in response to the rising popularity of HPA’s proprietary flavour and aroma hops, and a commitment to provide added accessibility for customers. Brewers will need to come direct to HPA from the 2018 harvest onwards due to changes in local distribution.