Australian hop harvest and selection

Welcome to this BreweryPro episode looking at hop harvest and selection. As southern hemisphere hop growers reach the midpoint of their hop harvest, discussion often turns to hop selection.  Brewers who have been fortunate to visit US farms are often invited to participate in selection, choosing the lots that they want to purchase. In Australia Hop Products Australia goes a different way, aiming for consistent quality through blending, even though the company itself participates in selection in the US. BreweryPro wanted to better understand the Australian approach and the reasons for it and so we caught up with HPA’s Sales & Marketing Manager Owen Johnston to understand why the company sees the local market as being different and also learn the business dynamics and agronomics that are unique to their Australian operations that shapes its approach to hop sales.