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.
The collection was donated by Nancy Sites of the Oregon Hop Commission in 2014.
Collection is open for research.
Hop Research Council Records (MSS HRC), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.
The Hop Research Council Records are complemented by the
Other related materials can be found in the
The
Collections linked to Oregon State University research, as well as other manuscript collections are described on the
The Hop Research Council Records are arranged into five series: 1. Administrative, 1979-2004; 2. Conferences, 1982-2004; 3. Research and Project Files, 1943-2003; 4. Reports and Proposals, 1983-2009; 5. Electronic Reports and Presentations, 2003-2009.
In addition to annual reports summarizing ongoing research projects funded by the Hop Research Council, the collection includes article reprints, bylaws, contracts, correspondence, financial records, meeting minutes, newspaper clippings, notes, research proposals, and symposium proceedings.
Much of the research reflected in the records pertains to the development of new hop varieties and the management of hop diseases such as powdery mildew. Projects by researchers at Oregon State University, including those in the United States Department of Agriculture's in-house research agency the Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), are featured prominently in these files, which include the work of Alfred Haunold, Cindy Ocamb, Ward Strong, Max Deinzer, and John Henning.
This series offers information on the foundational aspects of the council, such as position descriptions, by-laws, and plans. Also included are financial statements and office files that contain meeting minutes, correspondence and other administrative details.
Correspondence, meeting minutes, published reports, and financial information.
Meeting minutes, budgets, published reports, correspondence, and financial information.
Planning documents, published reports, articles, financial and budget information, and project proposals.
Correspondence, budget documents, proposals, published reports, Hop Research Council and European Hop Research Council meeting minutes.
This series focuses on HRC conferences and includes meeting minutes, agendas, correspondence, and other planning details. Also included in this series are materials related to international conferences HRC was involved with.
Planning documents, agendas, correspondence, research reports, receipts, and minutes.
Planning documents, agendas, correspondence, research reports, receipts, and minutes.
Planning documents, agendas, correspondence, research reports, receipts, and minutes.
Planning documents, agendas, correspondence, research reports, receipts, and minutes.
Planning documents, agendas, correspondence, research reports, receipts, and minutes.
Planning documents, agendas, correspondence, research reports, receipts, and minutes.
Conference programs, and public proceedings.
These research and project files show the wide range of HRC research on different aspects of the hops industry, including public/private breeding programs, disease and infection reports, and new hop variety research. While some folders are organized by topic, others are by individual researcher. Of special note are research materials and articles from Dr. Alfred Haunold.
Articles and FAQ documents about the Hop Research Council.
Draft proposal, meeting notes, and correspondence.
Press releases, correspondence, notification about pesticide residue, Delany Clause report, and U.S. Hop Industry Plant Protection Committee reports.
Verticillium wilt of hops papers, and hop mildew program report.
Field research, government rules documents, notes, correspondence, FAQ sheets, and quarantine information.
6 photographs of infected plants.
Notes, correspondence, lobbying letters, and articles related to the proposal to defund USDA-ARS research.
Reports, articles, and correspondence.
Reports, notes, and correspondence.
Reports, data, evaluation, meeting minutes, and correspondence.
Correspondence, project details, financial information for projects on breeding, disease, herbicides, and funding OSU Pilot Plant.
Reports on hop varieties and breeding, pest and weed control, and international research.
Reports on hop varieties, pest and weed control, breeding, reports from meetings with industry, and international and climate research.
Funding requests, and correspondence.
Articles, notes, and reports.
Budget request document.
Notes, reports, and correspondence.
Correspondence, reports, articles, and results.
Correspondence, articles, reports specifically carbohydrate in rootstocks.
Budget request.
Notes, brochure, article, catalog, and correspondence.
Presentation, articles, and report on pest control studies.
Reports and proposal to conduct disease research.
Report.
Correspondence, report, and article.
Correspondence, and project summary.
Proposals re: cryopreservation, and evaluation of hop germplasm samples re: powdery mildew resistance.
Correspondence, proposal, budget information, notes, and articles.
Translations of foreign language articles on hops.
Wild American Hops.
Articles.
Correspondence, and articles.
Correspondence, and articles.
The reports in this series are from the universities where hop research is funded by HRC. There is a report for each year (27 total).
58 files related to HRC annual reports, research presentations and funding, and membership.
36 files, including the HRC annual report, PowerPoint presentations, and financial statements.
17 files, including the HRC annual report, PowerPoint presentations, and membership information.