Climate change threatens beer production in Europe: due to rising temperatures and drought, a significant decline in the quantity and quality of hops used to flavor the drink is expected by 2050. This is indicated by a study published in Nature Communications by an international research group coordinated by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.
The researchers examined data relating to hop production between 1971 and 2018 in 90% of the European regions dedicated to this crop between Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. They thus discovered that, compared to what happened before 1994, hops begin to ripen 20 days earlier, yields have dropped by at least 0.2 tonnes per hectare per year and the content of alpha acids (the organic compounds that serve to give the beer its unique bitter aroma) was reduced by 0.6%.
Combining this data with climate models, the researchers calculated that by 2050 hop production will decline by 4-18%, while its alpha acid content will reduce by 20-31%. The decline will be more evident in the more southern regions where hops are grown (such as Tettnang in southern Germany and Celje in Slovenia) due to rising temperatures and increasingly frequent and intense drought episodes. For this reason, experts underline the urgency of implementing adaptation measures, such as expanding cultivated land by 20%.
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