New Varieties in Store for Alberta Hops

by | Dec 27, 2022 | Features, Plant Breeding

As hops grows in popularity in Alberta, breeders work to create new varieties that can adapt to the climate and result in better yields.

Hops, a plant deemed Humulus lupulus, have been used in brewing beer for around 1,000 years. Hops are a bit different compared to the “average” crop. Only female plants are grown in the modern-day industry, and it’s all vegetative propagation, making it a long-term investment for farmers as the plant can remain productive on a well-kept site for up to 25 years, according to the Pennsylvania State University Extension.

“Hops are a perennial plant. They’re kind of like apples or grapes, where you have a named variety, and that thing is clonally propagated over and over again. When you buy a bag of hops, it has a cultivar name associated with it,” says Jason McCallum, research scientist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)’s Charlottetown Research and Development Centre, in an interview with the Alberta Seed Guide.

While Canada is a newer player on the hops scene, the country actually contributed to one of the most crucial developments in modern breeding over 100 years ago. A plant from Manitoba was sent to England to make crosses, which resulted in nearly all of the modern-day hop varieties possessing this wild Canadian plant in their pedigree, explains McCallum.

British Columbia spearheaded the hops movement in Canada, yet prices collapsed in the 1980s, forcing many growers to rip out their hop yards. A price peak hit in the early 2010s and the movement to a local product mindset reinvigorated the interest in growing hops for Canadian growers.

“A brewery from a region knows that there’s tourists coming, and they want to have local foods offered at the brewery,” says McCallum. “They’re trying to grow the malt barley and hops locally. It’s that 100-mile mindset that has been big over the last 20 years in terms of agritourism. With that idea, there’s a price premium associated with local hops. You can buy hops as a commodity. They’re centrally marketed by very large companies. A couple dollars a pound wholesale for the growers, but if you tie into that local craft brew beer, you have price premiums.”

Close up of hops

Hop plants at Flatland Hops in Taber, Alta. Photo: Ed Hofsin

While there are genetic materials from Europe — where hops originated — and materials from North America, it’s imperative to understand the genetic materials are diverged by more than a million years. Western European countries including Germany, Czechia, France, Belgium, England and the Netherlands are strong growers of the crop — as beer drinking is a historical part of their culture.

Cultivation began in North America on the East Coast in states including Massachusetts and New York. The industry ultimately died out due to various factors such as a downy mildew outbreak in the 1920s, prohibition in Canada and the United States, environmentally harmful production methods and unethical business practices. In early commercialization, growers realized when the plant was pollinated, it would produce more seeds — therefore, increasing the weight. Hops were sold by weight, so people were intentionally pollinating the crop to increase yields.

“As soon as the plant starts to get fertilized, you’re losing quality, but people were selling it with seeds in it because they got paid by the pound. A barrel weighed this much, and they got paid this much,” says McCallum.

In the early 1900s, entrepreneurs moved west and brought their hops to grow in states like California, Oregon and Washington. Downy mildew thrives in wet and cold conditions, so the hot and dry environment in this region was much better suited for the hops, allowing the crop to thrive.

Climate Matters for Hops Production

The U.S. currently has around 74,000 acres of hops, with Germany about the same. Canada presently has around 500 acres in production, making it a very small player in the hops world. Yet growers and breeders are working to change that. The greatest factor prohibiting a successful hops operation in Canada are climate issues. Since hops thrive in dry and warm conditions, places like Alberta, Prince Edward Island or Ottawa, Ont. don’t provide ideal environments.

Researchers like McCallum are focusing on how to solve that issue.

“What we’re trying to do with AAFC is to develop hops that are well suited for other climates. There are differences in growing season, precipitation, disease resistance and flowering times. All of these things are factors that come out,” he explains.

One grower that has faced these challenges firsthand is Ed Hofsink of Flatland Hops, located in Taber, Alta. Flatland Hops currently grows five acres of hops and is working towards putting in four additional acres. Prior to tackling hops, Hofsink’s farm grew primarily dry beans, flax, wheat and mustard. Despite his familiarity with farming, hops were a whole new crop to learn.

“The most difficult part was getting into something that we knew nothing about. We farm here, so we think we know how to grow things. But this is a totally different crop, and a totally different thing to manage,” he shares in an interview.

Hops New Brunswick

Hops growing on a farm near the Shemogue marsh in New Brunswick. Photo: Jason McCallum

Hofsink took a leap of faith when deciding to grow the crop, and is hopeful that in the near future, his efforts will be worth it.

“There is good potential for growth. When we get it completely figured out on the growing end, and on the processing end, then the return per acre can be fairly good compared to a lot of the other things that we grow. With the high price of land, that was our motivating factor,” he adds.

McCallum and his colleagues at AAFC are working towards creating new varieties that will allow farmers like Hofsink to grow successful hops in not only in Alberta, but across the whole country. The registration process takes around two years before the varieties are approved.

“Once we have these varieties finished and they’re ready for public release, it’s going to offer farmers that are interested in growing the crop a plant that’s suited for their climate better. It won’t be as hard to grow, and producers will get better yields,” says McCallum.

Hops Industry Shows Longevity

In 2020, small and medium-sized Canadian brewery businesses earned annual revenues ranging from $30,000 to $5,000,000, according to the Canadian government. While Canada — and Alberta — might not be the leaders of the industry, the craft brewing industry is still growing as the quick turnover in demand requires new varieties. Every 10 years, new varieties must be planted to keep up with consumer demand, explains McCallum.

The craft brewing industry utilizes more hops than the commercial industry, as craft beers are often hoppier than domestic beers.

“The craft brewing industry embraces change. Everyone’s chasing new recipes. There’s new hops released every year that come out of private breeding programs in the United States, New Zealand or Australia. Breweries are scrambling to get these hops,” he says.

This is good news for farmers, but the industry still contains a lot of risk. They must choose a variety and hope that in three to five years — when the plant reaches its stage of maximum production — that there will still be a market for it. To protect themselves, farmers must be educated and identify good quality hops, explains McCallum. While some crops grow well, they don’t always taste good, so there is a tradeoff to be considered. Hops are a risky plant but grown properly with new varieties that are on the horizon, the crop could bring high rewards for farmers in Alberta and beyond.

Header photo — Hops growing on a farm near the Shemogue marsh in New Brunswick. Photo: Jason McCallum

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