New Varieties in Store for Alberta Hops

As hops grows in popularity in Alberta, breeders work to create new varieties that can adapt to the climate and result in better yields.

Hops, a plant deemed Humulus lupulus, have been used in brewing beer for around 1,000 years. Hops are a bit different compared to the “average” crop. Only female plants are grown in the modern-day industry, and it’s all vegetative propagation, making it a long-term investment for farmers as the plant can remain productive on a well-kept site for up to 25 years, according to the Pennsylvania State University Extension.

“Hops are a perennial plant. They’re kind of like apples or grapes, where you have a named variety, and that thing is clonally propagated over and over again. When you buy a bag of hops, it has a cultivar name associated with it,” says Jason McCallum, research scientist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)’s Charlottetown Research and Development Centre, in an interview with the Alberta Seed Guide.

While Canada is a newer player on the hops scene, the country actually contributed to one of the most crucial developments in modern breeding over 100 years ago. A plant from Manitoba was sent to England to make crosses, which resulted in nearly all of the modern-day hop varieties possessing this wild Canadian plant in their pedigree, explains McCallum.