So this is a pretty random topic and I'm not sure where it fits so I'm gonna throw it in here. I've seen a lot of talk on here about people joining the workforce in the brewing industry and never looking back. I also feel that being involved in the industry would be a great way to pursue your passion and ensure you don't get sick of your job. I currently work for a research group and have spent a fair amount of time studying plant growth mostly in tree species, but the instruments we use can be used on any type of plant. This has made me curious about what job opportunities exist in the hop industry from the perspective of growth and sales as well as from a research perspective. I've seen that a lot of the scientific literature on hop gas exchange (photosynthesis) comes out of the Czech republic, which shocks me considering how hoppy IPAs have changed the beer industry in america. It seems pretty logical to me that the more a efficient a hop plant can be in its photosynthesis/growth the more likely it would be to produce larger and higher quality fruit with more oil. I'm curious if anyone out there has some info on what types of careers are available in the hop industry or if anyone is familiar with current hop research in the United States. Sorry for the long post but I'd appreciate perspective from folks in the industry. Tyler
There was a letter in one of the homebrewing magazines not long ago asking about hops, and the author pointed at this group for information. http://hopresearchcouncil.org/ I don't know exactly what their work is focused at, but this might be something interesting. Also, look at some of the big hop growers and suppliers, they may be looking for botany help.
I would think that the right person could find a great career in the hop industry in the U.S. With the amount of breweries, and the focus on hop's in the U.S. market, the sky should be the limit.
If nothing pops out here, check with your nearest Schools of Agriculture. More and more they are running programs to offer some education on hops growing, etc. and might be able to offer you pointers, etc. to other resources.
Poke around this web site http://www.uvm.edu/extension/cropsoil/hops#links Nothing directly about careers, but tons of information about different aspects of hop growing. You can make some inferences. We do some work with Perrault Farms in Washington who run a huge drying operation, but that is very much seasonal. Yakima Chief is another big outfit.
You may also want to contact the American Dwarf Hop Association. http://www.adha.us/ The USDA also publishes some interesting materials, primarily crop reports. http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Washington/Publications/Hops/index.asp
Hops are in high demand and they are increasing in price because of the high demand. This may not been seen or felt in the homebrew world but it is felt in the professional world. I think there are not enough hop farms, especially in the US, to meet the need and demand. It is a profitable area, but there is A LOT that goes into it. Climate, latitude/longitude, equipement, quality control, etc. If it is done correct you can do very well, but remember this is still "farming" and it is A LOT of work, manual labor. Good luck.
If you want to get into the research side, I would say search for "humulus lupulus" on www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed. That will at least tell you what acedemic labs are studying hops. CRISPR some hops and make us some GFP beer!
Look at states like NY that are pushing farm brewing licenses that require an increasing percentage of ingredients to be sourced from within the state. Could lead to huge demand for local hops and barley. Cornell's agricultural program should be at the forefront of this movement, similar to how they've developed heartier varieties and cross breeds of apples over the years.
I'm surprised someone hasn't applied the crispr/cas9 system to hops yet. Extremely powerful tool and an untapped market with hops.
Thanks for all the input guys. I've got a fair amount of info to go from now so hopefully I can figure something out!
