Will this year’s diminished British hop harvest affect prices?
The changeable temperatures of this year’s British summer has caused a hop yield shortage of Challenger and Fuggles. But will the downturn result in price hikes? db finds out.
Speaking to the drinks business, hop grower, director of the British Hop Association and member of the Hop Industry Committee Ali Capper said: “This year’s drought was particulary difficult for hop growers in Herefordshire and Worcestershire. In Kent there was unusually more rainfall. Where the drought was significant there will be reduced yields but hop picking is still underway.”
A mixed picture
According to Capper: “Each variety reacts differently and the autumnal weather and rain that started at the end of August will definitely improve things for hops being harvested later in September.”
Echoing the struggles, farmer and hop grower Tom Spilsbury recently explained to local press how his yields are down by between 50-60% at Orleton Court Farm at Stamford Bridge between Worcester and Tenbury.
Spilsbury, who also runs Spilsbury and Jones Brewing Company which makes speciality ales from the hops, has said that the weather has led to yields of Challenger and Fuggles hops being down. He noted that the weather conditions had now become “exceedingly challenging” to his business, admitting that he now fears there may be a UK-wide shortage.
Will prices remain reasonable?
Farmers have said that they have hopes that prices will be kept “reasonable” to save the cost being passed on to beer drinkers. However, some brewers have already increased their prices in response to rising taxes and wage costs which came into place in April. Now, the average price of a pint of beer in the UK has risen to reach approximately £5.17.
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This year, Simon Dodd, chief executive of Young’s told the sector that the pub chain plans to increase its prices by between 2.5% and 3%. Similarly, budget pub chain Wetherspoons has also recently hiked the price of some of its drinks and meal deals by up to 30p. But it has been a sign of the times and gradually leaning that way. After all, even back in 2023, the average price of a pint of beer in Wetherspoons had already increased 11% year-on-year.
Hop yields down 50-60%
Explaining how climate change has started to have a knock-on effect on business, Spilsbury said: “We’re a working hop farm and small micro brewery. 2025 farming-wise has been exceedingly challenging after this summer, which has been the hottest or driest on record. We had a very wet winter that doesn’t do the roots any good at all. Then, we went into one of the hottest summers on record. The hops struggled for rain and water all the way through. We are down on our yield, quite a way down. Probably 50 or 60% of predicted yield, which is a big challenge at the moment. But I think we might scrape through our contracts.”
Will all of this affect the price of hops for farmers and brewers? Capper told db: “It is unlikely as growers grow under contract and so prices are set by merchants and brewers ahead of the harvest.”
This is at least good news, because if the harvest and it price contracts remain stable, then there are no extra costs for the sector to absorb, only contracts to honour. However, despite these assurances, a lot also comes down to how things pan out in the future. The weather has been changeable, after all
Capper agreed that the situation could “perhaps” still affect next year’s crop, but, she insisted “If we get a ‘normal’ winter and water levels are renewed then probably not.”
The picture will become clearer later in the year, when picking season is over and more data becomes available to forecast the effects.
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