Every year in March and early April, Australian hop producers prepare for their harvest of hundreds of acres of hops, supplying truckloads of the key brewing ingredient to brewers across the country.

Early feedback from producers around the country points to a successful harvest in 2026 characterised by quality, strong yield and steady demand.

Grace Irwin, Chief Marketing Officer at Hop Products Australia (HPA) said producers are pleased with this year’s harvest, with the Victorian farm beating expectations despite an unusually cool and wet spring, followed by drought conditions.

“This is thanks to the favourable conditions through the early summer months and a well-managed harvest. The alpha content remains strong across the board, and the oil profiles are outstanding. We assessed some beautiful expressions of our signature Australian hop characteristics during bale intake.”

The widely popular Galaxy hop is said to be displaying punchy and crisp aromatics while Vic Secret continues to be HPA’s workhorse.

“It’s consistent, high-yielding, and the quality this year is some of the best we’ve seen,” said Irwin. “Ella really shone this harvest too, with remarkable oil complexity that’s going to excite brewers. The standout story is the commercialisation of Luna®, a brand-new flavour hop from our powerhouse breeding program.”

At family-owned and operated Ryefield Hops, Jade McManus said the 2026 harvest has been the farm’s biggest yet with 6.2 tonnes baled – 1.5 tonnes more than this time last year.

The hop grower has also recently become one of the first in Australia to measure and report greenhouse gas emissions as part of achieving Certified Sustainable accreditation.

“We have been steadily increasing our yield each season now that our field has been re-planted after the Black Summer Bushfires. We are extremely happy with this season’s oils and aroma and feel that our growing and harvest practices produce a high-quality product for brewers that transfers to the beer. We have had great feedback on the fresh hops that have gone out and are excited for brewers to start using our 2026 T90s,” they said.

Ryefield has five focused varieties including Beedelup, Victoria (not Vic Secret), Red Earth, Azure and Frontier. Each range from high aroma, high alpha through to Euro Nobel style.

Steve Mitchell, Farmer at Brisbane’s Hilltop Hops farm said the recent harvest is pleasingly consistent with previous seasons.

“The summer yield was about 900kg, and we are expecting another 400-500kg for our winter harvest starting on 23 May,” he explained. “We had about a 20 per cent surplus with demand also similar to previous summer harvests.”

Managing demand

Structural oversupply remains a dominant theme in the global hop industry.

Irwin said despite ongoing acreage reductions in most major growing regions, supply is still outpacing demand.

“Returning to balance will take time as brewers continue to draw down stock from previous crop years and growers adjust production to moderate the surplus,” she stated.

HPA has adjusted and reduced farming where necessary in recent years, which Irwin said is leaving Australian hops in a balanced position.

“This scaled-back production created space for us to prioritise sustainability and innovation initiatives including soil remediation, cover cropping, rootstock rotation, and the accelerated development of leading experimental hops within our breeding program. There remain some pressure points, namely the spot market being tighter this year due to reduced acreage and brewers progressively returning to the market.”

With Ryefield Hops well positioned with locked in allocations and use in core range beers locally, the producer will this year also export to France.

“It’s our first international export which we are really excited about. We are still in a stage where brewers are learning about our hops and what they can do and we are looking forward to brewers trialling Beedelup, Red Earth and Azure this season,” said McManus.

They described the Beedelup variety as an instant favourite among brewers while Red Earth is expected to be utilised as a replacement for Saaz for the second year in a row.

“In the field Beedelup is amazing with pineapples, guava, lychee and grapefruit and is a really high aroma, high alpha variety that goes really well in beers that brewers are making at the moment.

“Red Earth is a perfect lager and pilsner hop with a complex aroma of caramelised pineapple, earthy, citrus and white pepper and I am looking forward to more brewers trialling it as a replacement for their lagers and pilsners this year.”

Luna Hops. Image credit: Riley Matthews.

HPA Luna. Image credit: Riley Matthews.

HPA harvest. Image credit: Riley Matthews.

In terms of the varieties gaining traction this harvest, Irwin said HPA’s Luna has had overwhelming demand as the market becomes more sophisticated and evolved.

“The majority of crop 2026 is already contracted, so our focus now shifts to the future. HPA has plenty of capacity to scale production in response to demand for crop 2027 and beyond.

“We’re seeing some brewers move away from big, bold, tropical varieties toward more restrained, elegant hop profiles. This contributed to the commercialisation of Luna and is opening doors for some of our more subtle varieties like Ella and Enigma.”

Irwin added that brewers looking for complex aroma is seeing Eclipse gain momentum.

“It flew under the radar initially, but brewers are discovering its versatility and that beautiful citrus character. We’re also seeing renewed interest in some of our earlier hops being used in new ways. Vic Secret, for instance is experiencing a resurgence as a cost-effective option for Dark Lagers and Saisons.”

Mitchell said Hilltop Hops is expecting favour for its Vista variety imported from the US in 2025.

“It grows faster, larger cones, oilier and yields much better than our other varieties. It’s proving to be our most popular hops variety. Kracanup is also getting a lot of orders with less interest in Victoria this year,” he said.

Looking ahead, Irwin said oversupply is expected to keep pricing flat in the short-term while in the long-term, input costs continue to increase and will become a key factor.

“Fertiliser, fuel, and agricultural chemicals have all increased substantially. We’ve absorbed what we can, but some pass-through is inevitable. Labour costs also continue to climb. We’ve also invested in staff training and retention programs, which adds cost but improves quality and consistency.” She concluded: “We encourage brewers to think about their future hop needs. We can offer more favourable pricing and supply guarantees for forward contracts, which helps both sides with operational efficiency and risk management.”