In the HopCast, Micah Cawley, Midwest Key Account Manager, catches up with Pete Mahony, Vice President of Supply Chain, to discuss the 2022 Hop Harvest. 

Some key takeaways include:

• While overall hop acreage fell, it was less dramatic than expected; classic hops like Cascade reversed a four-year trend and began to increase; proprietary hops that have led the market were relatively unchanged
• A longer, cooler, wetter spring delayed the growing season, followed by a heat dome in the Summer, which pushed back harvest times to allow the hops to mature; wildfires and smoke were not a factor in 2022, a nice respite from the last two years
• Labor, fuel and material costs are all rising but have not impacted prices yet due to existing contracts; labor costs will continue to rise over the next three years as Washington state’s time-and-a-half overtime law come into full effect
• As brewers stay conservative waiting for consumer demand to come back, and structural surpluses continue, acreages of proprietary aroma varieties will likely reduce 20-30% in 2023, while bigger public varieties will remain level

Listen to the full Hopcast now to get the whole story. Cheers!