bad hop crop 2012?

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Jonathanquist

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Had a party last night and a few of my freinds mentioned that they saw on the news that the hop crop in Washington is not doing well. wondering if anyone else has heard this and if they can provide a link with info I have Googled the poop out of it.
 
I wouldn't be surprised. Everything is suffering due to drought and high temps!
 
Luckily this drought has missed most of PA, but I expect prices on everything to hit the ceiling. Luckily my garden has produced like gangbusters this year and I'm canning the hell out of everything. My hops are growing alright, but they don't smell like anything. It's my first year harvesting them, so maybe they don't smell like hops until they're dried? Heck if I know! I'll find out :)

Good luck everyone in the drought areas!
 
I think with all the new breweries coming up and the huge explosion in homebrewing there will be a shortage in the popular hops..i.e. Simcoe, Citra, Centennial, etc... That is just a simple supply/demand issue. I did hear one hop grower/retailer mention that Cascades might be in short supply this year due to weather....seems odd since you can always get Cascades online for pretty cheap. I think the thing to do for a prudent homebrewer is to buy your favorite hops in bulk as soon as they are available andvacuum seal them. If you don't use them you can always sell them to other homebrewers and make your money back. How's that for creating a panic...;)
 
Actually, it's been colder and wetter here this growing season. We've had our share of weird weather. Just over to Eastern Washington for a little boat camping vacation pretty close to the heart of the growing area. High winds, followed by high winds and heavy rains (mid July) made the 90 degree days kinda suck. Our 90 degree days come with 20% humidity over there, so it's not like most of yours around the country. Heading home after our week. I actually had to pull off the highway as the rain, wind and hail created a white out and made several counties disaster areas for the last few weeks. Harvests for a lot of crops are off, but due more to cold and wet, than hot and dry.
 
I actually had to pull off the highway as the rain, wind and hail created a white out and made several counties disaster areas for the last few weeks.

That'll kill crops faster than any drought. Even small hail can devastate a crop almost ready to harvest. Looks like maybe some super-high alpha single hop recipes might be in order.
 
My hops are not as lush as usual, but they are growing ok. I don't do much with them since they are a few years old and can manage to grow on their own just fine. They got a little bit chewed on and have a yellow/orange tint on some of the leaves, but otherwise I expect a fair crop.

I hope the rest of the Michigan Hop crop does good. We're trying to start a small hop industry in Michigan to support our growing craft brewers.

And you generally won't smell hops on the vine until close to harvest time. My flowers are still small and spiky.
 
I think with all the new breweries coming up and the huge explosion in homebrewing there will be a shortage in the popular hops..i.e. Simcoe, Citra, Centennial, etc... That is just a simple supply/demand issue. I did hear one hop grower/retailer mention that Cascades might be in short supply this year due to weather....seems odd since you can always get Cascades online for pretty cheap. I think the thing to do for a prudent homebrewer is to buy your favorite hops in bulk as soon as they are available andvacuum seal them. If you don't use them you can always sell them to other homebrewers and make your money back. How's that for creating a panic...;)

Hoarders... I hate them.

"oh hey look everyone, simcoe seems to be in short supply. better buy way more than I'll ever need!"

This does nothing but make the problem worse.
 
Hoarders... I hate them.

"oh hey look everyone, simcoe seems to be in short supply. better buy way more than I'll ever need!"

This does nothing but make the problem worse.

True...but if you plan on brewing anything in the coming year with the super popular hops you should plan ahead.
 
Ditto, cold, cloudy in the PNW. Granted I'm in the Coastal Hills and not in the main Willamette valley, but only four of my hop plants got past the sprouting stage this year and even the Cascade didn't make it to the yardarm. I'm not expecting any hops this year.

Also, the blackberries are still blooming! Won't see much of a crop on them either. Not many apples and no blueberries.
 
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