The 2016 North American Hop Convention location and dates have been set! It will take place during the week of January 18 at the JW Marriott Desert Springs in Palm Desert, CA. The North American Hop Convention offers research updates from the top hop researchers in the United States and abroad, growers and industry personnel, and an industry outlook from the Brewers Association. The 2015 Convention offered industry presentations on new hop harvesting technology, craft brewer survey results, marketing and customer relations, and tours of local breweries.

Because of the growing interest in hop production, hotel accommodations for the 2015 convention were hard to come by. If you are interested and plan on attending please reserve your hotel room as soon as possible. You can reserve a room at the Convention group rate online or phone 877-622-3140.

The Brau Beviale Trade Show will take place in Nuremburg, Germany from November 10-12, 2015. It is one of the largest beverage trade shows in the world featuring over 1100 exhibits offering the latest technological developments in the beverage industry. If you happen to be in Europe in November it is worth attending, if for no other reason than the Franconia region is home to the highest concentration of breweries in Europe. Hop Growers of America will again be hosting a booth at the show. And we are happy to report that Michigan hop grower, Pam Miller, from Hopyards of Kent near Grand Rapids, MI was one of a few delegates selected to represent U.S. hop producers at the show to attend the show. This is the second year in a row that a Michigan hop grower has been selected to represent Hop Growers of America. Last year’s representative was Brian Tennis of the Michigan Hop Alliance.

For more information on hops production, the latest news and events from Michigan State University Extension please visit the MSU Hops Website.

Other articles in this series:

• National hop meetings on the horizon: Part one
• National hop meetings on the horizon: Part two