US: Oregon hop harvests nosedive 20% as craft beer market declines

Published 2024년 8월 19일

Tridge summary

Oregon has seen a nearly 20% decrease in its 2024 hop harvest, with hop acreage nationwide also down by 18% from 2023, according to the Oregon Beverage Alliance. This decline is largely attributed to falling craft beer sales, with consumers shifting their preferences to ready-to-drink cocktails, cannabis, and drinking less. The drop in hop sales has led to significant challenges for hop farmers and has resulted in numerous brewery closures in Oregon, particularly in Portland. The Brewers Association notes that craft beer sales have continued to decline by 2.1% midway through 2024, with no signs of recovery.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

Declining craft beer sales have led to Oregon seeing a nearly 20% drop in its 2024 hop harvest, according to the Oregon Beverage Alliance. Sam Pecoraro, brewmaster at Von Ebert Brewing and Secretary of the Oregon Brewers Guild, said: “Beer is usually only four ingredients – water, malt, yeast, and hops, which makes the quality of those ingredients all the more important.” According to the US Department of Agriculture via the OBA, hop acreage plummeted nationally by -18% from 2023, a statistic that has been reflected by Oregon hop growers, who are also down -18% compared to last year. The OBA has claimed that Oregon has gone from 7,000 hop acres in 2022 to just 5,500 acres in 2024. Sodbuster Farms fourth-generation hop farmer Erica Lorentz explained: “It’s been tough to say the least with the Oregon hop harvest down -12% last year and now -18% this year. Sometimes it’s simply a variety of hop going out of style, but now all hops are down because of declining beer sales.” Local ...

Source: Thedrinkbusiness