Since lockdown I have found the pleasure in small things, one of which is the happy hop newsletter (what I call it) from Stan Hieronymus that pops into my inbox.
The latest missive had the usual science deep dives but what caught my eye was this set of planting statistics….
Going up:
Variety 2019 2020 % change
Citra 9,035 11,201 +24%
Mosaic 4,225 5,559 +32%
El Dorado 993 1,605 +62%
Strata 253 764 +202%
Sabro 724 1,175 +62%
Idaho 7 473 904 +91%
Going down (some more than others):
Variety 2019 2020 % change
Simcoe 4,365 4,140 -5%
Amarillo 2,369 2,112 -11%
Cascade 5,280 3,998 -24%
Centennial 3,680 2,891 -21%
Willamette 889 802 -10%
Comparing five years ago to today:
Variety 2015 2020 % change
Cascade 6,952 3,998 -42%
Centennial 4,463 2,891 -35%
Amarillo 1,700 2,112 +24%
Simcoe 2,916 4,140 +42%
Mosaic 1,800 5,559 +209%
Citra 2,993 11,201 +274%
As you can see, don’t be expecting many single hop Cascade IPAs and ready your palate for Citra and Mosaic. The bright spot for me is the growth in Strata which is a hop that I have taken a liking to.