COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • AUGUST 2018


Hop sector brewing a bright future But growers need to be mindful of variety selections, pest issues


by DAVID SCHMIDT


ABBOTSFORD – The craft beer market is exploding across North America, which means the market for hops – particularly specialty hops – is also exploding. As of January, BC had 154 craft breweries, an increase of 26 in the past year. And many more are on the way. “Twelve new breweries have been announced


already this year,” Paul Sweeting told growers at the Pacific Agricultre Show hops session in January. That is good news for growers as craft brewers


use five times the hops as macro breweries. The owner of Ravens Brewing in Abbotsford,


Sweeting is one of the sector’s newer entrants. Despite being in business for just two and a half years, he already sells 150,000 litres of beer per year. “If [BC breweries] were to buy all our hops in BC,


we would need 1.25 million pounds or 800 acres worth of hops,” Sweeting says, adding that will not happen because “there’s just too much variety out there.” Brewers use a variety of hops to both distinguish themselves from one another and to diversify their offerings. Ravens, for example, brews up to 25 beers but only six remain the same year after year. The rest have only a limited run or change from year to year depending on availability of selected hops. Some are very eclectic, such as Ravens’ Milkshake IPA, which has added lactose, and its sour beer, which includes a live bacteria or yogurt culture. Craft brewers prefer IPAs, which is good news for


growers since it takes up to 50 kgs of hops to produce 1,000 litres of IPAs. In comparison, 1,000 litres of lager beer require only about 5 kgs of hops. Sweeting says direct-to-breweries is a great way


for growers to sell their hops but growers/ processors must provide what the brewers want.


“We want consistency and quality and it has to be a finished product,” he said. “We use some wet hops (24 hours after harvest) but 90% of our hops come as pellets.” Sweeting told growers to “research what’s going


to grow and what will sell,” paying particular attention to “high alpha” varieties. Like wineries, he said craft brewers are paying close attention to “terroir.” As a result, “what grows well here is what you need.”


Despite that, growers should avoid Centennial


and Cascade as those varieties may already be overplanted. Instead, he suggested they consider growing European varieties such as Fuggles and Styrian. He also recommended they grow more than one variety to “stagger your harvest.” Before the hops ever get to the breweries, they


have to be grown, and that means growers need to learn how to manage pests and diseases. It is very much a learning curve because so many growers are new. “We are a very young industry. Everyone still has a lot of questions,” BC Hop Growers Association president Ray Bredenhof acknowledged. Major pests and diseases include nematodes, aphids and mildew and BC Ministry of Agriculture plant health co-ordinator Maria Jeffries, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada researcher Rishi Burlakoti and University of the Fraser Valley assistant professor of agriculture Renee Prasad provided useful information on managing risks. “There are thousands of nematodes in the soil but only plant-parasitic nematodes are bad,” Jeffries told them. “The type and number of nematodes in your soil determines whether you have a problem,” she said, listing root lesion, root knot and cyst nematodes as the most damaging. She said New Zealand research shows hop plants


can tolerate 135 root lesion nematodes per 100 cubic centimetres of soil but start to suffer when the number doubles. “You need large numbers before it creates


issues.” The root knot nematode can become a real pest as a single female can lay 500 eggs. Though not as prolific, the cyst nematode is as dangerous since it is almost impossible to eradicate. “If you have this nematode, it will be there for 20


years,” Jeffries stated. Growers should sample and treat a field before


planting, then plant only clean hops as there are no chemical options after planting. “If you put clean plants in dirty soil or dirty plants in clean soil, you will have a problem.” Last year, local growers learned what growers


throughout the world already know: downy and powdery mildew can have major impacts on hops. First reported in BC in 1928, the fungi can affect hop leaves, stems, cones and rhizomes. Burlakoti said growers should use a combination of cultural (pruning) and chemical methods to control the diseases. He stressed downy and powdery mildew are actually two separate diseases so will need two different fungicides to treat them. Aphids are another major pests. Not only does


their presence make hops unmarketable but they act as vectors for such diseases as sooty mold and hop mosaic virus. Prasad advocates an integrated pest management approach. Growers should scout for aphids starting when temperatures average 14°C (May). They should look at top and bottom leaves of about five to 10 plants per row and take action when they find five to 10 aphids per leaf. “You get the best control when the population is low,” she told them.


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