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The Hop Research Council (HRC) is an international organization, based in the United States. It was formed in 1979, with offices in Oregon, to fund hop research by soliciting and providing funds for scientific investigation and research related to the agricultural production of quality hops in the United States. Historically, funded projects have been in the areas of plant pathology, agronomic research, public hop breeding, a clean plant network, entomology, and brewing research. Furthermore, the HRC allows researchers to quickly direct attention to a specific area of research when new needs arise. HRC has distributed approximately $10 million in grant funds to hops research projects. Membership of the council is made up of representatives from the brewery industry, state hop commissions, and hop dealers. HRC serves the entire hop industry by supporting research that meets the needs of members, but they also work to facilitate communication between the council, brewers, growers, hop dealers, and the scientific community.

Public hop research had been supported by the United States Brewers Association from about 1950 through 1978. That year it lost a major member, and as a result of the associated revenue loss, programs discontinued technical activities, including the support of hop research. Although the USDA-ARS and the universities of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho could contribute facilities and modest budgets for personnel, the loss of United States Brewers Association funding was a severe blow to hop research in the United States. It was clear to many that an industry that provided a high-quality commodity to the domestic market and a competitive product with an annual export value of $51 million required research support in order to maintain its quality consciousness and competitive stance.

Believing that the hops and brewing industries could benefit from a united hop research effort, concerned brewers, dealers, grower organizations, and others met early in 1979 to form an organization designed to support hop research in the United States. The purpose was to explore ways to fund research that meets the demands of all segments of the industry. Present at the first meeting were representatives from Adolph Coors Co., Anheuser-Busch, Inc., California Hops Growers Association, George Segal Co., Idaho Hop Commission, John Barth Inc., John I. Haas Inc., L. Oppenheimer and Co., Lupofresh Inc., Olympia Brewing Co., Oregon Hop Commission, Pabst Brewing Co., Pfizer Inc., S.S. Steiner Inc., The Stroh Brewery Co., United States Hop Administrative Committee, Von Horst Co., Washington Hop Commission, and Washington State Hop Producers Association.

By the mid-1980s the scope of research supported included breeding and genetics at Washington State University and the USDA-ARS program at Oregon State University, insect and mite programs at WSU and the University of Idaho, disease control programs at WSU and OSU, and two chemistry programs at OSU, one supporting the breeding programs and the other concerning hop contributions to the aroma and flavor of beer. From the beginning, a special fund was identified to supporting special, short-term projects. During HRC’s first year about $73,000 was raised through pledges and distributed among the research programs. This does not mean that U.S. hop research is funded primarily by the HRC; the USDA-ARS provides a nucleus for research. Instead, the HRC serves as a focus for U.S. hop research and provides an important incentive for and demonstration of the importance of this activity.

The development and commercialization of new high alpha varieties afforded a competitive advantage for American hops grown for use at home and abroad; these included Galena, Eroica, Nugget, Olympic, and Chinook. Equally important was the development of aroma varieties, including the Willamette, Mount Hood, and Liberty. Additionally, in the 1980s, European varieties were evaluated for agronomic and brewing characteristics.

The HRC holds two annual meetings. The summer meeting includes a business session and a hop field day where experimental and commercial yards are inspected. The winter meeting includes a comprehensive review of the research HRC supports; each project leader provides a written report, which is assembled according to research category and distributed to members as a single bound booklet prior to the meeting. During the meeting, budget committee and the new proposals evaluation committee meet, and project leaders present their results and future plans. Each presentation is followed by a discussion, which provides interaction between the researcher and the brewers, dealers, growers, and others present; this ensures that every aspect of research has input from all phases of the industry.