It’s fall time south of the equator, and in those hop growing countries in the southern hemisphere, that means it’s hop harvest time.
Despite growth in beer sales worldwide over the last few decades, according to the annual Barth Report published by the Barth-Haas Group, a global hops company, the total acreage devoted to hops production around the world is nearly unchanged since 1998. Total harvest numbers actually dipped significantly in the later 2000s and early 2010s, but then settled in at 60,383 hectares in 2018, as compared to 60,111 hectares in 1998.
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A detailed report from First Key, consultants to the brewing industry, found a number of varied reasons why the hop harvest has remained nearly static for over 20 years, including advances in hops cultivation, major breweries around the world cutting back on the bitterness of their beers and other factors.
Read the full report here.