Public Hop Breeding Program

The Hop Quality Group breeding program started in 2015 in collaboration with Dr. John Henning and Angela Randazzo of the United States Department of Agriculture - Agriculture Research Service (USDA-ARS). The purpose of this partnership is to develop and release new hop varieties within the public domain that are interesting to both growers and brewers.

HQG members are thoroughly involved in the process, from rub and sniff analysis at the earliest stages to the brewing trials presented before you. We utilize feedback provided by HQG brewers and advanced thiol analysis in the decision-making process for advancing new lines. We intend to create hop varieties of the highest quality, that meet current agronomic benchmarks, and align with our organization's goals.

The hops that the HQG is helping to develop will be available to all growers and brewers as soon as they have proven viable from an agronomic and market perspective.