Hop production in Idaho is seeing a significant dip this year, with acreage set to drop by a third compared to last year.
Sean Ellis with the Idaho Farm Bureau shared some insight on why this is happening.
“Hop acres in Idaho and the Pacific Northwest went up at a torrid pace for about a decade. Now they’re dropping at a torrid pace, actually, a faster pace than they went up. So, hop acres in Idaho and around the Pacific Northwest, which produces virtually all of the nation’s hops, they’re going down double digits. Hop acres are predicted to be down 33% this year compared to last year. The craft beer craze is what drove acres up, and, you know, a stalling or slowing down of the craft beer craze is what’s causing acres to go back down,” Ellis explains.
Analysts say that the craft beer craze is slowing because consumers are shifting to seltzers.
USDA reports that Idaho will harvest more than 5,800 acres of hops this year, down more than 8,600 last year.
