The world has a whole new generation of legal drinkers and what exactly do they want? Craft beer. While prior generations have favored mass-produced beers and chain restaurants, the new generation craves the individuality of IPAs and local breweries. This has called for an increase in the production of a certain crop—hops.
“At present, the majority of hop production is in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. In the past five years, United States hop production has increased 72 percent, spreading growth to other states including New York and Michigan. As of June, Nebraska has 39 strung acres of hops under production, which increased 15 acres since 2016. Today the United States has a total of 54,135 acres of hops under production.”
Hops are crucial in beer making and it sounds like if millennials have a say, its demand isn’t going away anytime soon. While drinking has always been a vital part of most adults’ social lives, it’s now becoming so in a different way. Once upon a time friends were just sharing a beer, but now they’re discussing every aspect of their individual beers. It’s all about trying what’s new and rejecting what you can find everywhere you go. They want beers to be unique and local because craft beer is officially a hobby.
To learn more about the increasing demand for hops refer to Hops gaining popularity as a speciality crop.