World: Last year saw global increase in hop acreage - Barth
Hop crop and alpha volume totals in 2016 were determined on the one hand by the increase in acreage worldwide and, on the other, by the significant rise in production volumes over 2015 in most of the countries in the European Union, the Barth-Haas Group said in its latest report.
There was a noticeable shift in the share of alpha yield of the aroma varieties versus that of the bitter/high alpha varieties, taking the ratio to 45 : 55 %.
The two biggest hop-growing nations Germany and the USA further increased their share of the world alpha production. The two countries had a combined share of 81.3 %, compared with 80.5 % in crop year 2015.
While Germany increased its share to 42.8 % (2015: 31.0 %) thanks to very good crop and alpha yields, the rebalancing of the varietal mix in the USA from high alpha to aroma hops was already having an impact. The latter’s share of the world alpha production was
38.5 % (2015: 49.5 %).
The alpha acid values upon which the calculations are based are recorded using the method of EBC analysis 7.4 - % as is at the Time of Processing (ToP).
As the 2016/2017 marketing season draws to a close, the hop and beer industries are once again looking ahead expectantly to the coming 2017 harvest. With the exception of aroma/flavour varieties that are primarily used in craft beers, the supply situation for the brewing industry regarding high alpha hops and conventional aroma and superfine aroma varieties is tense, the Barth analysts said.
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