Average annual price of hops in the U.S. 2010-2019

Over the last few years, the average price of hops in the United States has been dropping. Between 2016 and 2019, the price of a pound of hops fell from 5.72 U.S. dollars to 5.68 U.S. dollars.

Hop production in the U.S.

In the United States, hop production reached an all-time high in 2018, when around 106.91 million pounds of hops were produced. To put this figure in perspective, in 2012 only around 58.91 million pounds of hops were produced in the United States. The vast majority of hops in the United States are cultivated in Washington, Idaho, and Oregon. Washington had the highest production volume of hops in 2018, at 77.73 million pounds, which was over half the total production volume of the country.

Craft beer in the U.S.

Hops are one of the most popular ingredients in the beer brewing process as it gives the beer a more complex and balanced flavor. Typically, beer that is heavily flavored with hops can be quite bitter, which is not to everyone’s taste. Recently, “hoppy” beers have become extremely popular in the United States with the craft beer movement. Craft beer is expected to become even more popular in the United States, reaching a retail dollar sales share of 33.1 percent by 2020.