Heat and Drought to Cut Czech Hop Harvest by a Quarter, Growers Warn

Czech hop growers are warning that this year's harvest could come in a quarter below normal, hit hard by intense heat and a prolonged drought. The hardest-hit farms are those without irrigation systems — and that's the majority in the country.

Industry experts say the alpha-acid content in hop cones, which determines the quality of raw material for brewing, is shaped mainly by weather conditions and is largely beyond growers' control. The only real way to protect yield and quality is irrigation. Yet only around a quarter of all Czech hop fields are equipped with irrigation systems, and this year, specialists estimate, no more than a third of those were able to water properly — there simply wasn't enough water to go around.

Government promises reservoirs

According to Šebestyán, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture, authorities have long been preparing plans to build reservoirs in the country's main hop-growing regions. Solving the water shortage quickly, he said, would strengthen Czech hop farming's competitiveness on the global market.

The minister also pointed to an existing irrigation support programme that funds the construction of storage reservoirs and pumping stations. Some farms are tackling the problem on their own by relocating hop gardens closer to water sources. However, moving these temporary agricultural installations takes between 14 and 18 months, and the ministry would like to speed up that process.

The ministry declined to forecast whether beer prices will rise, noting that many other factors are also at play. "Food prices are currently historically low, and an increase is likely, but it won't be tied solely to this year's hop harvest," a ministry representative explained.

Searching for heat-resistant varieties

A specialist named Smetana spoke about ongoing breeding work aimed at developing hop varieties less sensitive to drought and heat. Two such drought-resistant varieties have already been created, but traditional, foreign and large breweries still prefer the classic and most widespread Czech variety — Žatec Semi-Early Red. As a result, researchers have partly redirected their efforts toward improving the drought resistance of this traditional variety itself. According to the specialist, that work could take five to seven years.

Hop-growing areas keep shrinking

According to the Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture, the total area of hop fields in Czechia has shrunk this year to 4,783.9 hectares — down 27.8 hectares from the previous year (a 0.58% decline). The number of hop farms remained unchanged at 120.

The bulk of plantings are concentrated in the Žatec hop-growing region — 3,672.6 hectares, or 76.8% of the country's total hop acreage. Since 2023, Žatec and the surrounding hop-growing landscape have been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The most widespread variety, Žatec Semi-Early Red, covers 3,939.5 hectares, down 12.8 hectares from the previous year.

Last year's hop harvest in the country was average — 6,494 tonnes were collected, 500 tonnes less than the year before. Average yield came to 1.34 tonnes per hectare, compared to 1.44 tonnes in 2024. The institute typically publishes harvest data around late November and early December. Of the harvested crop, about 40% is consumed domestically, with the rest going to export.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by ekolist.cz