Germany: Hop acreage, number of hop growers down in 2024

Germany’s hop acreage is down 340 ha (-1,6 %) to a total of 20,289 ha this year, Barth Haas said in their June Hop Update report.

The acreage of high alpha varieties continues to increase, with the varieties Herkules increasing by 419 ha (+6 %), Titan by 322 ha (+344 %) and Polaris by 27 ha (+5%). In contrast, the aroma varieties are being further reduced. The largest absolute decline was recorded by the Perle variety with -375 ha (-12 %), followed by Hallertau Tradition with -241 ha (-9 %).

The flavour varieties are also continuing to decline: Amarillo, Hallertau Blanc and Mandarina Bavaria are all losing double-digit hectares. The varieties Magnum (-150 ha), Hallertau Mittelfrüher (-14 ha), Taurus (-31 ha), Hersbrucker Spät (-10 ha), Northern Brewer (-17 ha), Spalter Select (-29 ha) and Saphir (-38 ha) are also being cut back, as they are not well adapted to the changed climate, resulting in insufficient yields per hectare.

Aroma hops are primarily being replaced by high alpha varieties, but also by newer varieties that are better adapted to climate change, such as Tango (+26 ha).

As in previous years, the number of active farms continues to decline and now stands at 1,009 (-31). In contrast to previous years, not all land that becomes available is leased to neighbouring farms and is therefore no longer in production.

E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .