Retapping the Potential of Public Aroma Hops

For SIBA BeerX 2025, Christine Clair, VP of Sales and Marketing at Crosby Hops, traveled from Oregon to give a talk on US Public Aroma Hop Varieties at SIBA’s The Future of Brewing Stage. As a key figure in Crosby Hops – a fifth-generation hop farm and supplier to craft brewers worldwide – Christine is well-versed in the future of hops. She and the Crosby team are dedicated to reimagining public aroma varieties to ensure their continued role in brewing’s future. Below is the blog post that inspired her BeerX talk. Over to you, Christine.

The History of Public Aroma Hops in the USA Hop Breeding Industry

For much of the 20th century, aroma hop breeding in the U.S. was led by public programs, designed to serve all breweries, large and small.

Public breeding programs, like those run by the United States Department of Agriculture and universities like Washington State and Oregon State, were established to develop hops with:

• Unique aroma and flavour profiles to differentiate American beer.
• Disease resistance to improve hop yields and reduce farmer risk.
• Adaptability to thrive in U.S. growing regions.

This led to the development of some of the most iconic public aroma hops in craft brewing today:

• Cascade (1972) – The hop that changed craft beer forever. Citrus, floral, grapefruit—became the backbone of the early craft movement.
• Comet (1974) – Originally selected for its high alpha acid content, recently making a comeback finding favor with citrus, stone fruit, and tropical qualities
• Chinook (1985) – Pine and citrus. A versatile dual-purpose hop.
• Centennial (1990) – Sometimes called “Super Cascade,” with bigger citrus and floral character.

These public hops fuelled the craft beer revolution, providing the foundation for the first wave of American IPAs, pale ales, and hoppy beers. US public hop varieties would soon become mainstays not just in US craft beers, but in the craft beer boom globally.

Private Proprietary Hop Breeding Programs in the USA

As the craft beer industry exploded in the late 2000s and 2010s, so did the demand for new, proprietary hop varieties.

Private hop breeding programs launched new aroma hops that could be exclusively controlled and intensely marketed to encourage adoption by breweries, and drive new commercial styles of beers.

Some of the most successful proprietary hops include:

• Simcoe® (2000) – Developed by Yakima Chief Ranches, sits in the top 10 craft varieties.
• Amarillo® (2003) – Discovered by Virgil Gamache Farms, one of top 10 aroma varieties, high levels of myrcene for citrus and grapefruit notes
• Citra® (2007) – Hop Breeding Company release, most dominant hop in craft beer.
• Mosaic® (2012) – Hop Breeding Company release, a staple in modern hazy IPAs.
• Strata® (2018) – Developed through a partnership between Oregon State University and Indie Hops, known as a complex hop layering passion fruit, strawberry, grapefruit, and dankness notes.

Proprietary hops are exclusively managed by their breeding companies, and this limits access to select growers. As a result, brewers can only purchase them from designated suppliers at predetermined prices.

Current Market Reality for Hops Grown in the USA

Today, 65% of the total U.S. hop market is proprietary, while only 35% remains public. This disparity is even greater in the aroma hop market, where 70% of acreage is privately controlled.

2024 USDA Hop Report shows data for specific US hop varieties strung, and at Crosby Hops we’ve taken a dive into this data to identify both general trends in the US hop industry, and public vs proprietary variety trends too.

Hop Acreage Reductions by Hop Varieties

In 2024 there were large acreage reductions in Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe, as well as Cascade. Chinook has seen a 40% acreage decline since 2022. Centennial has been stable, which is a demonstration of how highly valued this hop is for its quality and versatility.

We define ‘Specialty’ hop varieties as those hops which cover an acreage of 1,200 acres (486 hectares), and we’ve seen a downward trend here too. Willamette acreage has dropped 40%, Comet down 64%, and Mt. Hood is down 34%.

Endangered Hop Varieties

Lastly, we grouped varieties that have seen significant downward pressure to create an ‘Endangered List’ of public hop varieties. There’s some stark reading here – Cashmere is down 60% in the past two years, Comet down 64% since 2022, Mt. Hood has fallen to just 142 acres in Oregon, with Mt. Rainer no longer reported in Washington at all.

Why Are Hops on the Endangered List?

Hop growers will only string hops they see a strong demand for. Because of the long lead time in stringing and growing hops, decisions to string hop varieties are driven by brewers’ hop contract demand, as this is the best data hop growers and hop producers have to work with when planning for their hop growing over coming years. The key message for brewers here is simple – if you don’t use certain hop varieties then there’s a likelihood you could use them, and the best way of guaranteeing your supply of a hop variety is through a hop contract. If hop growers don’t see enough hop contract demand for certain varieties those varieties can disappear, which can ultimately lead to fewer choices of hop varieties at potentially higher costs.

New Developments in US Public Hop Varieties

I think we can all agree that the problem with certain hops having their acreage cut isn’t purely the varieties themselves—it’s how they’ve been farmed and positioned in the market. Without a fancy marketing and sales plan behind public hop varieties, it is natural for proprietary hop varieties to have taken center stage and for public hop varieties to become overshadowed.

Crosby Hops Estate Grown Public Hop Varieties

At Crosby Hops, we saw this as an opportunity. Instead of letting public hops fade away, what if we created a dedicated program championing them? From that, Crosby Estate Grown was born.

Through Crosby Estate Grown, we’re breathing new life into public hop varieties by leveraging our farm’s unique Oregon terroir, modern farming practices, and optimized harvest timing to unlock new potential.

Showcasing Oregon’s Terroir

Not all public hops are created equal. Where they are grown—and how they are farmed—makes a massive difference in their performance. Oregon’s unique climate, soil, and growing conditions allow us to take classic public varieties and elevate their flavour expression what’s typically expected.

Modern Farming Practices

Public varieties have often been treated as commodity hops, but by applying modern agronomy techniques from soil health to irrigation and natural pest protection, we are finding new aroma and flavour characteristics and therefore driving brewer demand.

Perfecting Harvest Timing for Maximum Total Oils

Hop character is heavily influenced by pick windows, and public varieties have historically suffered from ungoverned harvests. Through Crosby Estate Grown, we’ve analyzed and optimized the ideal harvest timing for each hop variety to capture the highest total oils and best aroma expression.

Making Public Hops Available in Advanced Hop Products

When we developed our industry-leading patented process for producing CGX™ cryogenic lupulin pellets, our goal was always to make it accessible for both proprietary and public hop varieties. Brewers looking to maximize the flavour and aroma of public hops, while boosting brewhouse yields, can achieve efficiency gains by substituting a portion of their public hop variety T90 pellets with CGX™.

Repositioning Public Hops as High-Performing, Premium Ingredients

For years, proprietary hops have dominated because of intense branding and marketing, while public hops were left behind. But we believe that public varieties deserve to be treated as premium ingredients, not just budget options. By investing in quality, consistency, and brewer education, we’re repositioning public hops as a critical part of the modern brewer’s toolkit.

To prove this, let’s look at a couple specific examples.

Case Studies Showcasing the Best of Oregon Grown Public Hop Varieties

Centennial – A Classic Hop, Reimagined

Centennial has been around since 1990, and for years, it was considered a workhorse hop—reliable, citrus-forward, but often overlooked in favor of flashier proprietary varieties. We planted Centennial and have championed its unique Oregon Estate Grown expression making it our leading variety in the program by volume.

Verdant Brewing Co has adopted Crosby Hops Estate Grown Centennial supplied by Loughran Brewers Select, and has partnered Crosby Hops Centennial with Simcoe in their flagship beer, Lightbulb Extra Pale Ale.

Comet – First in Oregon

Once a forgotten alpha variety, we planted Comet on our Crosby Hops farm in Oregon and found it to be a much different expression than Comet grown in other regions of the US. It is hard to even consider it the same variety. A favourite at hop selection for its punchy citrus, DEYA worked with Crosby Hops and Loughran Brewers Select to brew a collab beer with Crosby Hops Estate Grown Comet called ‘You Can All Read’ released this year and showcased at SIBA BeerX 2025.

What Public Hop Varieties Can Do For You As a Brewer

What can using public hop varieties mean for your brewing program and your brewery business?

Let’s start with smart sourcing to help you balance your cost of goods. Public hops are a tool to get premium quality hops at a competitive price point. The perception that public hop varieties are merely ‘commodity’ hops is outdated. The truth is, when sourced from the right hop farm—grown with care, selected for quality, and processed with precision—public hops can be just as impactful as proprietary ones in your beer. By integrating public hop varieties into your core recipes, you can reduce overall hop costs without sacrificing quality.

Why can public hop varieties be cheaper?

• No breeder royalties – which can range from $0.50 to $1.50/lb. or £1.10 to £3.31 per kilogram.
• No limitations on acreage by the variety’s owners, supply and demand is purely in the hands of the market
• No minimum pricing for distributors

Guarantee the Future of the Hop Market by Contracting Public Hop Varieties

Many breweries rely heavily on a few proprietary hops—but if supply tightens or contracts shift, that can leave you scrambling. Public hop varieties can offer a flexible, reliable option to hedge against volatility in the hop market.

Lastly, as brewers, you have the power to influence what gets planted. If public varieties continue to decline, we risk a future where private companies control hop availability and pricing. Keeping a mix of public and proprietary hops in your portfolio ensures brewing independence and price stability.

The Future of Public Hop Varieties in the US

Public hop program innovation is not just a thing from the past. In the U.S. a group of craft brewers joined forces to create the Hop Quality Group to fund hop breeding initiates at the United States Department of Agriculture. This year they will have their first official release, yet to be named, but currently called HGQ #4.

Crosby Hops is one of three trial growing partners that vetted this hop and will now be expanding acreage to support its release. We’ve encouraged brewers to get involved with the Hop Quality Group where they can, and we advise you to maintain a good relationship with your local hop distributor Loughran Brewers Select to get first access to this and other new public varieties as we look forward to bringing these to the UK through Loughran Brewers Select in the near future.

Balance Your US Hop Supply with Public & Proprietary Hops

We’ve covered the history of public aroma hops, the rise of proprietary hop varieties, and how public hop varieties can thrive with the right collaborative approach from brewers, hop growers and hop producers. If proprietary hop varieties continue to dominate the industry, brewers could face fewer choices and higher prices, locked into a system controlled by just a handful of suppliers. Just like diversifying your malt or yeast sources, incorporating public hops helps protect your brewing program while supporting a more balanced and sustainable U.S. hop industry.