The Hidden Benefits of Hop Vintage
TOP-SELECTED LOT(S) AT A PREMIUM VALUE
Top selected hop lots are still available and are brewing as well as ever
For years now, we’ve been gathering anecdotal evidence about hops. We’re particularly interested in what varieties brewers gravitate toward and why? Which hop lots are standouts and what character do they bring to beer? And one of the things we’ve noticed is that experienced brewers are not afraid of utilizing standout lots of previous crop year hops. If the hops are brewing well, why mess with a good thing, right?
Why indeed, we ask, would brewers not take advantage of this opportunity??
It most likely has to do with history. Craft beer enjoyed a long run of solid growth up until shortly after the global pandemic of 2020. During that run, hops enjoyed even faster growth than beer as hop usage per barrel of output increased along with the success of IPA. For a number of years, most “IPA hops” were in short supply, and if you didn’t contract accurately (and early), you’d find yourself at the whim of a spot market where you had little choice but to take what you could get — and what you could get was often a subpar hop lot. But times have changed.
The rapid slowdown of beer sales in recent years means that the craft beer industry never came close to beer output levels that breweries had planned for, so hop supply overshot actual demand. While a decline is beer sales isn’t great for the industry, there is a silver lining for breweries: top selected hop lots are still available and are brewing as well as ever.
We’ve taken steps to better understand what happens to previous crop inventory over time from a chemistry standpoint.
Podcast discussion
Prof. Shellhammer and Dr. Chenot talked through their study findings with Jamie Bogner on the July 10, 2026 episode of the Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine podcast.
Listen In
Data from research by Professor Tom Shellhammer and Dr. Cecile Chenot, both of Oregon State University, supports the anecdotal real-world feedback we receive from customers: previous crop year hops can deliver as much punch and character as newer crops. Their studies aim to better understand the effects of long-term storage on several hop varieties through chemical analysis. Using that data they seek to answer questions such as:
→ How quickly do hops in storage lose the flavors that brewers want?
→ Is HSI (Hop Storage Index) an accurate indicator of previous crop hop quality?
→ Are newer crop year hops always better?
→ And, is it right to look at hops like fresh produce: once it’s picked, it’s all downhill from there?
The opinions of brewers with regards to these questions and about brewing with older crop year hops varies based on the personal experience of the brewer, views acquired from the preferred practice at breweries where they’ve worked, and the “talk of the town.” A great many factors are in play, confounding efforts to prove that one practice or another is essential to good hop flavor in beer. This allows some myth, lore, and legend to creep in.
Enter the science of Shellhammer and Chenot! In June 2026, their latest findings were published by the Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists in an article titled “Storage Stability and Vintage-Dependent Aroma Variation in Strata® Hops.”
Study aim:
“The stability of hop aroma during storage is a key concern for brewers, yet the relative impact of storage, vintage, and production site on aroma composition remains unclear. In this study, we investigated Strata® hops from multiple harvest years, farms, and fields, focusing on terpene and polyfunctional thiol composition,” writes Chenot. Four crop years of Strata (2022-2025) from two different farms and various fields were compared.
“All samples were T90 pellets, packaged in an inert gas atmosphere (a mixture of N2 and CO2), with oxygen levels targeted to be below 2% at the time of packaging.” All samples had been cold-stored at 28℉ since their respective harvest and pelletizing dates, and after being received by Shellhammer and Chenot, were kept at temperatures below 39℉ until analysis.
Findings
“Across the four vintages available for each farm,” writes Chenot, “the coefficient of variation for most compounds remained below 25%, indicating limited compositional variability despite differences in storage duration.” To help understand what Chenot is saying in this statement, we can reference Table 2 (below), which lists concentrations of all identified hop oil components in each lot along with the corresponding percentage variation across farms. If we look at the Myrcene levels of each lot across both farm and vintage (harvest year), we see a minimal variation of only 8% for both Farm A / Field A1 and Farm B / Field B1 & B2. Looking at Linalool levels across both farm and vintage, we see larger, but still relatively small variations of 18% (Farm A / Field A1) and 15% (Farm B / Field B1 & B2).
With respect to thiol levels, when considering 3S4MP, the study points out that “Strata® hops were particularly rich in 3S4MP (up to ~80 μg/kg), placing them among the highest reported hop varieties, alongside Mosaic® and Nelson Sauvin®.” If we again refer to Table 2 and consider the data from a hop vintage perspective, the highest levels of 3S4MP listed are from a 2023 lot from Farm B, not from the newer crop year lots of 2024 or 2025.
“Storage under typical low-oxygen conditions appeared to have minimal impact on hop aroma and thiol content, whereas elevated oxygen exposure caused notable losses of monoterpenes and 4SMP. These results demonstrate that Strata® hops exhibit robust aroma stability during storage, and that environmental and agronomic factors, as reflected by combined farm–field effects, rather than storage duration, are the primary drivers of compositional variability.”
These findings are exciting because they expand options for brewers.Could it be that a lot of Strata that was harvested in 2023 delivers a desired flavor profile even better than a lot from 2025?
“One practical takeaway for brewers,” states Chenot, “is that for varieties such as Strata® the choice of lot, harvest year, and production site may have a greater impact on aroma than concerns over normal storage duration, provided hops are stored under appropriate low-oxygen conditions.”
Key study takeaways:
- “Strata® hops exhibit remarkable aroma stability during storage under typical low-oxygen conditions. Elevated oxygen exposure, rather than storage duration itself, was the main factor associated with losses of certain aroma compounds such as monoterpenes.”
- Strata is one of the most thiol-rich hops in the world, “particularly in 3S4MP (up to ~80 μg/kg), placing them among the highest reported hop varieties, alongside Mosaic® and Nelson Sauvin®.”
The reality is that today’s hop market can help breweries lower their cost of goods and at the same time be in control of their hop quality and consistency. When grown, harvested, processed and stored correctly, previous crop year hops can be a goldmine for brewers — allowing them to brew with top selected lot(s) while reaping the the benefits of steep discounts.
When it comes to unique Indie varieties — Strata®, Lórien®, Luminosa®, Meridian® and Audacia® — Indie Hops comes close to being vertically integrated as a business; meaning, we control all aspects of our supply chain. We develop the hops — from breeding to sensory analysis to all aspects of launching the hop commercially. We control all aspects of hop propagation, where the hops will be grown and how many acres of the hops will be grown. We work closely with all of our growers on harvest timing to ensure they are picked during an optimum window, then process the hops at our own pellet mill which has been engineered to lock in just-harvested freshness. The pellets are then expertly packaged and expertly stored at our mill — all by a mill crew that has been working for us since almost the beginning. So brewers can rest assured that hops sourced from us have received the utmost care and attention.
The Surprising Benefits to “Hop Vintage”
Industry expert Stan Hieronymus has written on the topic, most recently in the Spring 2026 BIG issue of Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine. In this article, titled “Selecting Better Hops — Whatever Your Size, Wherever You Are,” Stan outlines practical steps for brewers to access the best hops available to them. He states, “Merchants have launched new programs — including lower minimums to qualify for selection — clearly intended to include opportunities for smaller breweries. To take advantage, the people in charge at those breweries may need to change their mindset.”
Stan goes on to highlight the fact that Indie Hops has taken steps to put brewers in the drivers seat — allowing them to “select” the best lots of previous crops that best fit their needs. In the article he quotes Indie Hops CEO Jim Solberg, “There’s a stigma among many brewers that says previous crops are bad quality. For many years, that was true… it’s a very different situation now, with some of the very best versions of a given hop variety being from previous crops. Indie Hops has created one-ounce foils filled with Strata for brewers to sample.”
Are you a brewer that loves the tropical passion fruit of Strata, the orange or grapefruit citrus hit, or do you lean more toward the sweet, sticky cannabis dankness? Either way, Indie can facilitate selection from the best Strata vintage available.
In another Stan Hieronymus article titled, “Hop-Tub Time Machine: Prior Crop Years Offer Both Value and Quality,“ Stan reminds readers that brewers also win medals with previous crop year hops. His article offers valuable insights for brewers to consider. A key takeaway from his article (quoted below) is very much in line with how we’ve seen hops perform.
“Located amid hop dealers in the Yakima Valley, Varietal is in a better position than most breweries to go shopping for hops that some might call leftovers. Nonetheless, its beers — such as Sup Cuz IPA, which won silver at the 2021 GABF — prove that while older hops may be cheaper, the real reason to buy them is that they can produce award-winning beer.”
In the article, Stan provides some tips from Chris Baum, Varietal Beer’s co-founder and head brewer: ”Baum says brewers elsewhere in the country can do the same by asking similar questions of their sales representative and by not being shy about obtaining samples. If what’s in a fresh bag smells good, he feels confident about using it. “Do sensory [every time] before it goes in,” he says. “It works for us.”
“Varietal is in a better position than most breweries to go shopping for hops that some might call leftovers. Nonetheless, its beers — such as Sup Cuz IPA, which won silver at the 2021 GABF — prove that while older hops may be cheaper, the real reason to buy them is that they can produce award-winning beer.”
Hop Vintage by the Numbers
The Spring 2026 BIG issue of Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine also has an incredibly valuable read for brewers titled “Dig into Your Supply Chain.“ This informative read from Kate Bernot highlights an essential aspect of brewery success: healthy profit margins.
Bernot’s article states: “…high-volume, low-margin manufacturing is especially vulnerable to increases in cost of goods: It requires a lot of sales to cover those increases. Instead, you would generally do well to focus on reducing costs rather than attempting to cover them with volume sales”, says Adam Faietta, procurement and supply-chain director for Agrowgate, a strategic sourcing group for the beverage industry. “Every fractional or decrease in cost has a lot quicker impact to your bottom line” than sales, he says. “That right there is the reason …you should be paying close attention to what your costs are.”
According to the Brewers Association Report, 2024 US Craft Brewing Industry Figures, “2024 was the first year since 2005 that the number of breweries that closed outpaced brewery openings nationwide. In a mature market, not every year is going to be defined by substantial growth,” said Matt Gacioch, the Brewers Association’s staff economist. “While progress may not come in additional production volume, it can still come in honing operations, business practices, and world-class beer.”
As craft beer nuts, our team at Indie Hops remains optimistic that beer sales will once again trend upward, but will our industry see the wild growth of the 2010s again? And will those sales take off quickly and unexpectedly? We’d love it if they did, but all signs point to the fact that the craft beer industry will continue to face some tough hurdles.
Perhaps now — when reduced COGs can help your brewery stay competitive and can be a lifeline to better times — is a great time to shift mindsets on previous crop year hops. We’ve made it easy for brewers by allowing them to evaluate samples from various lots of previous crop years. AND we are able work with volume needs to ensure that there is enough inventory to ensure consistency in beer recipes.
As brewers ponder their upcoming hop needs, we urge them to also consider the science versus the lore.
→ Wouldn’t it be interesting if there is usually more variation in the character of a variety that is due to intrinsic differences between crop years and terroir (i.e. location) than due to how long it was cold stored (at least for 3 or 4 years)?
→ Might you have more quality and consistency in your beer by sticking with the same field or crop year when you find something you really like rather than automatically starting over each year searching for the perfect lot out of fear of brewing with previous crop year hops?
→ And could your bottom line (and beer) benefit by tapping into previous crop year hops that are showing just as much character as current crop year hops?