Hop Growers of America

After sharing a booth with the Brewers Association for the past three years, HGA went solo this year with a 50m² corner booth. The heart of the booth was the sensory station where 15 U.S. hop varieties were showcased with cones samples on display, enabling visitors to do a hop rub and experience the different characteristics of each variety. All 15 hops were also available in 1 oz. pellet sample packs to take away for brew trials. Both public and proprietary hop varieties were featured: Amarillo®, Belma®, Cascade, Cashmere, Centennial, Citra®, Chinook, Comet, CTZ, Crystal, El Dorado®, Nugget, Simcoe®, Tahoma, Willamette. As always, corresponding beers were available in the bar section of the booth so visitors could experience the hops in the final product as well. Each hop was represented in a beer except Tacoma which has proved challenging to find in a beer available in bottles or cans – suggestions are appreciated for future events!

A big Thank You to our delegates for donating their time and working so hard to promote US hops:  Brian Bolduc (OR), Bill Cahill (OR), Paul & Sue Fobert (OR), Michelle Gooding (ID), David & Brooke Henze (OR), Sarah McKay (ID), Joe & Denise Reynolds (WA), Zack Riel (WA), David Sipes (MI), and Alexa Weathers (OR).  In addition, thank you to HGA Brewmaster Consultant, Matthew Brynildson for his expertise and great presentations at HGA’s Beer Tasting Seminar.  Stay tuned to HOP NEWS next summer for our call for volunteers for 2019!