Hop Products Australia (HPA) is looking ahead to harvest, following a varied growing season in recent months.

HPA expects to pick more than 500 hectares of hops and deliver them to brewers across Australia and the world to create the aromas and flavours of their customers' favourite beers.

Crop 2026 will be processed through Hop Central in Myrtleford - formerly home to the Tobacco Cooperative of Victoria - which provided the perfect shell in which to build their state-of-the-art pelleting, packaging and cold storage facility as part of the $20 million project.

In Hop Central’s second year of operation, HPA is hoping to increase throughput and improve quality by applying their learnings from the previous year.

“It was an unusually cool and wet spring which initially slowed plant growth, particularly among our first year experimental hops,” general manager of operation, Hans Dreyer said.

"Fortunately, this was followed by hot and dry conditions in early-summer which reinvigorated plant growth and led to the development of ample flowering sites.”

As a result of Victoria's recent heatwave conditions, nearby bushfires were sparked across the region which created a smoke haze, temporarily reducing photosynthesis and effecting cone growth.

“Given [it is now] early in the growing season and most of the crop is still in burr, there is little to no evidence suggesting the smoke will impact the quality of our finished product” Mr Dreyer said.

For the moment, HPA is focused on the impact to surrounding communities as well as the health and wellbeing of their team.

Air quality continues to improve, but HPA is upgrading its weather monitoring systems regardless to facilitate the early identification of any impurities and harmful particulate matter.

HPA is also hopeful the recent bushfire reduces the likelihood of another event during the critical harvest months.

“Delivering high quality products isn’t just about the hops we grow, it's also about how we process them” processing facility manager, Michael Monshing said.

“We adhere to various quality and food safety certification systems across our sites and are particularly proud of Hop Central’s Food Safety System Certification.”

HPA’s FSSC 22000 certification has confirmed Hop Central follows globally recognised best practice to produce the highest quality hop pellets, in a consistent and compliant manner.

It also ensures the processes are not only effective today but are continuously monitored and future proofed.

Quality and compliance manager, Katie Crane, said structured certifications like FSSC are not just boxes for HPA to tick.

“[These certifications] reflect our deep commitment to regulatory compliance, operational efficiency and continuous improvement of our practices,” she said.

“We’re proud to be part of a global brewing community that values quality and consistency and our FSSC certification reflects the seriousness with which we take our role in that ecosystem, ensuring the hops our customers rely on are grown, handled and processed with the same care they have for their beers.”