Although the local hop farmers are used to having to cope with a wide variety of weather conditions, climate change is also presenting the established Mühlviertler farmers with completely new challenges. “We can already clearly see the effects of climate change and, in order to be prepared for the future, we sometimes have to consider whether we should use new or different hop varieties,” said Manuel Starlinger, Managing Director of the Mühlviertler Hopfenbaugenossenschaft, on the occasion of this year’s hop assessment. After the harvest, the quality of the hops is checked by a committee of experts. “Of course, the brewers must also want the other varieties and ultimately buy them. We still sense a slight hesitation here,” says Starlinger. After all, the hops are also an important flavor component, and the country’s master brewers like to brew with “their” varieties. Nevertheless, years like this one, with so many hot days, are showing farmers that new varieties will have to get used to. These breeds are said to tolerate heat better and sometimes require less water or fertilizer.
Still enough hops
The chairman of the cooperative, Stefan Hofer, also assured us that there were still enough hops. But some breweries have to reckon with reduced delivery quantities, especially since this year’s crop yield is around 15 percent below the long-term average.
In the Mühlviertel – the hop chamber of Austria – one got off with a black eye. “In other strong hop countries such as the Czech Republic or Germany, the losses are 40 to 50 percent,” said Hofer.
Hop harvest 2022
This year’s hop year began in April and May with perfect weather. June was also good. But at the end of June it got hot and some of the hops bloomed early at the expense of length growth. In July and August, too, the rain fell very sparsely in many places. In addition, days above the 30-degree mark hurt the hops, and lower yields were expected. The harvest season in August actually started quite well before the heavy rains came. The farmers of the Mühlviertler Hop Farming Cooperative sometimes had to cancel the harvest because the fields were not passable. The farmers harvested a total of 260 tons of hops. This is 15 percent below the long-term average and also below the already subdued expectations. Some of the alpha values, which are responsible for the quality, were also below average.
Source: Nachrichten
