Applied Science for the Canadian Hop Industry

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The craft beer industry is one of the fastest growing economic sectors in Canada. The craft beer sales almost doubled from $1 billion in 2014 to 1.9 billion in 2018. The increase in demand for craft beers has created a boom in the hop industry as well. However, Canadian hop producers have struggled to compete with hops imported from more established growing regions, namely the United States, where approximately one third of the world's hops are produced. To date, Canadian breweries continue to rely heavily on imported hops from the United States despite having proven domestic capabilities for production across the country. Canada imported CAD $63 million in hops in 2019 alone, an increase of 152% from 2015. Canadian growers continue to face competition pressures because they are prohibited from growing proprietary hop varieties most favoured by craft breweries (e.g., Citra brand HBC 394) which are owned and distributed by international hop companies. The Canadian hop industry requires supportive resources from the Canadian scientific community to develop unique Canadian hop varieties with characteristics sought after by craft brewers. A potential source of novel hops could come from the wild, especially farm-grown heirloom hops that have escaped and seeded wild populations (i.e. feral). The industry will also benefit from having a centralized hop terpene database for Canadian-grown hops. The database will add valuable scientific credibility and act as the foundation for the maturation and development of the Canadian hop industry. The scientific team at Langara College in collaboration with three Canadian hop companies will undertake the following studies to support the Canadian hop industry: i) to identify (chemically and genetically) promising novel feral hops for commercialization, ii) to cultivate and test selected feral hops for brewing trials to produce a new signature craft beer, and iii) to develop a centralized database of hop terpene profiles (the HopNet) to showcase Canadian-grown hops. These studies will directly benefit the Canadian hop industry, the industrial partners involved in the project, and build a closer relationship between the hop farmers and craft brewers in Canada.