About Us

FOR THE LOVE OF BEER & THE BUSINESS OF BREWING.

John I. Haas provides world-class hops, bittering products, flavor and aroma products, and innovative brewing solutions to the world’s best brewers. We are a proud member of the BarthHaas Group, a global network of family-owned hops farms, processors and distributors.

From the experimental fields to the Innovations Brewery, our pelletizing plant to your brew kettle, we believe close collaboration fuels your success as well as ours. Whether it’s ensuring your supply chain, improving brewing efficiency, helping you discover exciting hop flavors from around the world—or creating renowned hop products like INCOGNITO®, LUPOMAX® and FLEX®—HAAS is dedicated to helping you brew your best possible beer.

HOPS EXPERTS FOR THE WORLD'S BEST BEERS

John I. Haas is a member of the BarthHaas Group. With branches in Germany, the USA, the UK, Australia and China, the BarthHaas Group conducts business on every continent. It is a world leader in breeding, growing, processing, and marketing hops and hops products. The group’s portfolio also includes storage and logistics services, hop research and development, and application technologies for the brewing industry and other sectors.

  • THE BACKSTORY

    Like many of our innovative hop varieties, the history of Haas is a cross-pollination – a careful combination of people, agronomy, technology and innovation that has resulted in a company that constantly evolves to meet the needs of our customers.

    It all started in 1914 when a young man from Britain, born to Austrian-American parents, found himself waiting tables in Nuremberg, Germany. His name was John I. Haas. One of his regular patrons was a mid-sized hop trader by the name of Mr. Bing who saw a spark in John (or John I., as his friends called him). Mr. Bing’s dream of expanding his hop business into the US would finally become a reality by engaging this energetic young man to do it. But John I.’s entrepreneurial spirit was too strong to contain and John I. soon realized that he was going to be the master of his own success and founded the company of John I. Haas, Inc.

    Like many of our innovative hop varieties, the history of Haas is a cross-pollination – a careful combination of people, agronomy, technology and innovation that has resulted in a company that constantly evolves to meet the needs of our customers.

    It all started in 1914 when a young man from Britain, born to Austrian-American parents, found himself waiting tables in Nuremberg, Germany. His name was John I. Haas. One of his regular patrons was a mid-sized hop trader by the name of Mr. Bing who saw a spark in John (or John I., as his friends called him). Mr. Bing’s dream of expanding his hop business into the US would finally become a reality by engaging this energetic young man to do it. But John I.’s entrepreneurial spirit was too strong to contain and John I. soon realized that he was going to be the master of his own success and founded the company of John I. Haas, Inc.

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  • Perseverance against all odds

    1914 was all but a fortunate choice of year to found a company. It was the beginning of World War I, which was followed by Prohibition and Depression – all not conducive to support a start-up hop business. But despite all odds, his business grew because of his initiative to look for customers outside the United States. In particular, John I. built strong relationships with Canadian brewers who, not surprisingly, were benefiting greatly from American Prohibition. In 1925, Haas acquired its first hop farm in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia (which eventually grew to 1,300 acres). By 1931, John I. sensed a change in what the world’s brewers were looking for. Up to that time, the most endearing quality of American hops was their low price (based on efficient farming units and strong yields) but their quality was dismal.John I. set out to change that paradigm by buying a farm in Yakima, Washington and implementing a program to reduce the seed content and improve the picking quality of his hops.

    In addition to his excellent timing (1933 was the repeal of Prohibition), brewers responded so favorably to his quality oriented hop farms (branded as Yakima and improve Golding Farms) that Haas eventually became the largest private hop grower in the world with 25 farms and almost 4,000 acres.

    1914 was all but a fortunate choice of year to found a company. It was the beginning of World War I, which was followed by Prohibition and Depression – all not conducive to support a start-up hop business. But despite all odds, his business grew because of his initiative to look for customers outside the United States. In particular, John I. built strong relationships with Canadian brewers who, not surprisingly, were benefiting greatly from American Prohibition. In 1925, Haas acquired its first hop farm in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia (which eventually grew to 1,300 acres). By 1931, John I. sensed a change in what the world’s brewers were looking for. Up to that time, the most endearing quality of American hops was their low price (based on efficient farming units and strong yields) but their quality was dismal.John I. set out to change that paradigm by buying a farm in Yakima, Washington and implementing a program to reduce the seed content and improve the picking quality of his hops.

    In addition to his excellent timing (1933 was the repeal of Prohibition), brewers responded so favorably to his quality oriented hop farms (branded as Yakima and improve Golding Farms) that Haas eventually became the largest private hop grower in the world with 25 farms and almost 4,000 acres.


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  • HAAS AND BARTH. FROM COMPETITORS TO COLLABORATORS

    Over the next 40 years, Haas maintained its leadership position in America as it transitioned to the next generation. Fred Haas took over from John I. in 1964 and continued his quest of delivering quality hops to brewers around the world. During Fred’s time at the helm of the company, Haas expanded its product portfolio into extracts, which laid the foundation for innovative refined hop products for the next decades. It was the US processing capabilities of Haas that peeked the interest of another market leader, namely Joh. Barth & Sohn, Germany, under the leadership of Henry Barth. As much as Henry Barth and John I. were the fiercest of competitors, Fred Haas was able to find common ground and, having no children of his own, saw a continuation of his company in the hands of the Barth family that started in the hop business already in 1794.

    The result was that in 1977, John I. Haas became part of the Barth-Haas Group – the world’s leading hops supplier.

    Over the next 40 years, Haas maintained its leadership position in America as it transitioned to the next generation. Fred Haas took over from John I. in 1964 and continued his quest of delivering quality hops to brewers around the world. During Fred’s time at the helm of the company, Haas expanded its product portfolio into extracts, which laid the foundation for innovative refined hop products for the next decades. It was the US processing capabilities of Haas that peeked the interest of another market leader, namely Joh. Barth & Sohn, Germany, under the leadership of Henry Barth. As much as Henry Barth and John I. were the fiercest of competitors, Fred Haas was able to find common ground and, having no children of his own, saw a continuation of his company in the hands of the Barth family that started in the hop business already in 1794.

    The result was that in 1977, John I. Haas became part of the Barth-Haas Group – the world’s leading hops supplier.

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  • HAAS TODAY: LEADING THE WAY INTO THE FUTURE

    In the years that followed, Haas maintained our passion for innovation. In the 1980’s, we began the first private hop breeding program in the industry. In the next decade, we introduced the breakthrough hop varieties Chelan and Millennium. And at the beginning of the new century, we partnered with Select Botanicals LLC to create a joint venture called the Hop Breeding Company LLC which created the highly successful varieties Citra®, Mosaic® and Equinox™.

    Today, the John I. Haas company continues to lead the way. In 2013, Haas opened the Innovations Brewery inside our recently opened Innovations Center in Yakima, Washington. This 2.5- hectoliter research brewery has the advanced capabilities that allow our brewmasters to work with commercial brewers large and small to develop beer formulations that utilize new hop varieties, hop products and innovative flavor concepts.

    In 2014, Haas celebrated our 100th anniversary. And while a lot has changed since John I. started his hops business back in 1914, we are certain that if he were alive today, he would see the same obsession with innovation, quality and service for which he set the standard from the very beginning.

    In the years that followed, Haas maintained our passion for innovation. In the 1980’s, we began the first private hop breeding program in the industry. In the next decade, we introduced the breakthrough hop varieties Chelan and Millennium. And at the beginning of the new century, we partnered with Select Botanicals LLC to create a joint venture called the Hop Breeding Company LLC which created the highly successful varieties Citra®, Mosaic® and Equinox™.

    Today, the John I. Haas company continues to lead the way. In 2013, Haas opened the Innovations Brewery inside our recently opened Innovations Center in Yakima, Washington. This 2.5- hectoliter research brewery has the advanced capabilities that allow our brewmasters to work with commercial brewers large and small to develop beer formulations that utilize new hop varieties, hop products and innovative flavor concepts.

    In 2014, Haas celebrated our 100th anniversary. And while a lot has changed since John I. started his hops business back in 1914, we are certain that if he were alive today, he would see the same obsession with innovation, quality and service for which he set the standard from the very beginning.

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GROWING, PICKING AND PROCESSING YOUR HOPS

While John I. Haas buys many of the hops we sell from high-quality partner growers in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, we also grow, breed and harvest hops on our own farm in Yakima, Washington. Our Global Gap Certified HAAS® Yakima Golding Farm is home to over 1,800 acres of trellised fields, harvesting facilities, hop kilns and bailing operations. It is also home to some of the most knowledgeable hop agronomy experts who put their education and passion to work in a never-ending drive for quality and efficiency. It’s been that way since John I. pioneered the world’s first seedless hop back on some of these very same fields in 1931. And it remains that way today as our team oversees the growth of the most sought-after hop varieties in the world.

Why Haas

Contact us

LET'S TALK HOPS.

Thanks for coming to our website. If you don’t know where to start, this is a good place. Just fill out the form and we’ll get back to you right away. If you know who you want to talk to, just give us their name and we’ll have him or her get right back to you. If you need immediate help finding a hop, placing an order or making a reservation at the Innovations Brewery, give us a call at 1-509-469-4000.

INNOVATIONS CENTER

John I. Haas, Inc.
1600 River Road
Yakima, WA 98902
+1-509-469-4000

HEADQUARTERS

John I. Haas, Inc.
5185 MacArthur Blvd. N.W. Suite 300
Washington, DC 20016
+ 1-202-777-4800