When purchasing hops, one common reflex is to always choose the most recent harvest. After all, a hop harvested this year should be better than one from the previous year... right?
In reality, things are far more nuanced. Like many agricultural products, hops vary from one harvest to another. Weather conditions, sunshine, rainfall, and temperatures all have a direct impact on their composition. A new harvest is not automatically "better" than the previous one. It is simply different.
Every Harvest Has Its Own Identity
Hops are living plants that are closely connected to their environment.
A particularly sunny year may encourage the development of essential oils responsible for aroma, while another may produce higher alpha acid levels, making the hops ideal for bittering. Conversely, some harvests may offer more delicate aromatic profiles or slightly lower concentrations.
Take Citra® as an example. One year, it may have an alpha acid content of 11%, while the following year it may reach 14%. However, this does not mean that the 14% harvest is necessarily better. It all depends on the beer style you are brewing and the results you are trying to achieve.
This is precisely why hop suppliers publish annual crop analyses for each variety.
Hops Have an Excellent Shelf Life
Another often overlooked aspect is storage.
Modern hops are vacuum-packed in oxygen-barrier packaging and stored at low temperatures. Under these conditions, they evolve very slowly.
Losses in alpha acids and essential oils remain limited, especially when the cold chain is maintained. In other words, hops from the previous harvest that have been properly stored retain the vast majority of their aromatic qualities and brewing potential.
Why Do We Still Offer Previous Harvests ?
Simply because they remain of excellent quality.
Before being offered for sale, harvests are tested and their analytical characteristics are fully known. This means you know exactly their alpha acid levels, beta acid content, and key aromatic compounds.
In some cases, brewers may even choose a particular harvest for its specific profile rather than automatically selecting the newest one.
Freshness Is About More Than the Harvest Year
The quality of hops is not determined solely by the harvest date.
The key factors are :
- Growing conditions
- Harvest analysis results
- Drying quality
- Vacuum packaging
- Proper cold storage
A perfectly stored hop from the previous harvest will often outperform a newer hop that has been exposed to poor storage conditions.
Choose the Right Hop for Your Recipe
When selecting hops, it is generally more useful to look at the crop analysis than at the harvest year itself.
Alpha acid levels, essential oil composition, and aromatic profile provide much more valuable information than the crop year alone.
Among professional brewers and experienced homebrewers, it is common practice to use different harvests of the same hop variety to achieve the profile best suited to a particular recipe.
In Summary
The latest hop harvest is not always the best choice.
Each crop year has its own characteristics, and properly stored hops retain their quality for a long time. By choosing a previous harvest, you can benefit from an excellent product, often at a more attractive price, without compromising the quality of your beer.
In brewing, the best hop is not necessarily the newest one. It is the one that best matches the beer you want to create.
