Too Hot For Hops

With the Fruit Grower Report I'm Susan Allen. Hop growing is a proud Northwest tradition dating back to the late 19th century. From Washington and Idaho's desert climate to Oregon lush landscape the Pacific Northwest is home to some of the finest hops in the world, varieties with names like Chelan, Chinook, Tillicum and Nugget. Washington State produces over 70 percent of all hops in the nation while Oregon is at 15% and Idaho nearly 11 a good chunk of a market is estimated in the US to be worth $105.9 billion last year.

Because of the boom in the craft beer industry, demand for hops is at an all-time high. But our drought conditions have caused issues for growers, Here's meteorologist Brad Rippery.

Rippery: Drought conditions the last two summers in the Northwest may impact how hops grow. USDA meteorologist, Brad Rippey, discusses how drought the last two years has impacted production and yields.

RIPPEY: In 2015, more than 32-thousand acres of hops harvested in Washington State and the national total is just over 43-thousand acres. When you have such a specialized growing area, you're prone to droughts or other weather extremes that can really throw off a crop and that has certainly been a player in the hops production and yield over the last couple of years. In 2014-15 hops production was hurt quite a bit by drought and heat in the northwestern production areas. At the same time, it's very interesting to note that acreage has increased but we've seen yields go down.

Thanks Brad, Lets hope this summer's weather conditions play out differently so the Pacific Northwest will continue to produce the best craft beer for a hot summers day.