As hop harvest begins, Colorado brewers prepare for fresh hop beer season
DENVER — Next week, hop growers begin the first round of harvest, with fresh hop beer season soon to follow as brewers pick up fresh hops for a once-a-year beer experience.
“Going out to the hop yards and selecting what you want is a truly unique beer experience, where we get to smell and envision our next creation,” said Marni Wahlquist, head brewer at Odell Brewing Company Sloan’s Lake Brewhouse. “Fresh hop beer season is a labor of love but it’s worth it when we see customers enjoying this highly seasonal beer. At Odell Brewing Company, we’re excited to be using fresh Amarillo and Cryo Krush hops in this year’s brews. We invite folks to come out and enjoy these beers in early October.”
HOP ACREAGE
According to U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington state produces the most hops with 31,701 acres, followed by Oregon with 5,421 acres and Idaho strung 5,109 acres. While most of America’s hops are grown in the Pacific Northwest, Colorado’s beer industry helps create 1,400 agriculture jobs within the state. And Colorado is still home to Billy Goat Hop Farm, which is growing 22 acres of hops this year.
“The annual hop harvest produces hops that are used by breweries all year long, with the vast majority of hops processed into hop pellets that have a multi-year shelf life when held in cold storage — all yielding delicious results that give beers their unique aroma and taste,” said Michelle Palacios, executive director of the Oregon Hop Growers Association. “But during harvest, some brewers create fresh hopped beers to showcase the unique characteristics only fresh hops can impart. It’s a special time of year for beer nerds and I encourage everyone to seek out these brews to support your favorite local brewery.”
Depending on the variety of hops, some begin harvest as soon as next week, while others will go well into September. As beer sales decline, so has hop production. Last year, hop acreage declined -18% nationally. With the Brewers Association projecting craft beer sales down -5% halfway through 2025, hop production is similarly down -4-5%.
“What is so cool about fresh hop beers is they are a direct connection of agriculture and the brewing industries,” said Audrey Gehlhausen, co-owner and farmer of Billy Goat Hop Farm. “As the craft beer scene struggles, local Colorado farms have been directly impacted. Over 50% of the dwindling hop acreage that remained in Colorado was lost last year directly because of decreased Colorado beer production. The issue of dying hop farms in our state is the entire reason we started the Southwest Fresh Fest — to start educating the public on the necessity of agriculture in the brewing industry, and in turn the importance of craft beer for the ag industry.
Colorado’s nearly 450 breweries help create 61,000 jobs, $4 billion in wages and $13.1 billion in economic activity for the state each year. According to the Colorado Brewers Guild, Colorado lost 85 breweries, taprooms or brewpubs in recent years. Brewers are dealing with inflation, supply chain issues, employee shortages, tariffs and fewer people drinking beer overall. Fresh hop beer season is a way to help support this vital, local industry.
