Hop Wars

Alfred Haunold’s hybrid hops saved the Oregon hop industry by appealing to macro brewers such as Anheuser Busch, Miller, and Coors. But, at the same time, a craft beer revolution unfolded on the Pacific Coast. This chapter explains that, while the big brewers helped sponsor the hop breeding efforts, they did not always want the end result. In fact, the big brewers used only a handful of the two dozen hop varieties that Haunold released until his retirement in 1996. The hops we have in our microbrews today are the result of newfound collaborations resulting from the craft brewers of the 1980s and 1990s. And, unlike the 1950s and 1960s, the hop has become a visible component of beer marketing.