Photo: Courtesy of Barth Hass Group

By Mark Godfrey

Beijing's ability to drink is one of the reasons why China has become the world's biggest beer market. The country's love of lager has been good for suppliers to brewers like Yangjing, among them the Barth Haas Group, the world's top trader of hops. Few people know the vine-like plant, which contributes aroma, flavor and preservative properties to beer (hops also give a beer its creamy head) is grown extensively in China. Hurting from stagnant sales, the brewing industry has figured ways to reduce hop use. Andre Feldmann, who runs the firm's China operations, sees growth potential in China as beer consumption here rises and local breweries seek to brew more high-end beers. Barth Haas harvests hops from farms in Western China: Beijing-based Feldmann is director of the board at the firm's joint venture Xinjiang Green Diamond Hop Co and a board member at Gansu Tianma Hop Co, also a joint venture.

Why grow hops in China?

Barth decided to invest so we'd also have the option to export our hops. We also import hops from Germany to our customers in China.

How come you can grow hops in China and not, say, in Thailand?

The best hops grow only in two narrow bands around the globe, between latitudes 35 to 50 north and south since this is where the proper amount of sunlight per day during the hop-growing season. Xinjiang and Gansu share those coordinates with Germany and US hop-producing states like Idaho.

Where does China now rank in global hops production?

China contributes about 10 percent of the world's hop crop. It produced around 16,000 tons in 2009. China ranks among the world's top-five hop producers. The biggest producer is Germany which last year produced 50,000 tons.

Do you supply the hops raw or do you process them?

When harvested, fresh hops don't last more than a couple of days so we process immediately by kiln-drying and then pressing and baling them. Pellets are made from hop flowers that have been frozen and milled. We then package them in plastic or aluminum pouches for the brewer's convenience.

What's the difference between alpha, aroma and bittering hops and who typically uses each?

All hops contribute bitterness, flavor and aroma to a beer, but to different degrees. Bittering hops would be added at the start of the boil, for their alpha acid content or bitterness. Flavor hops are added in the middle of the boil while aroma hops are added toward the end.

Is hops production in here increasing?

Over half of China's 60 hop farms are in Xinjiang and most have expanded. The growing region has expanded 73 percent in the past two years. Farms there concentrate in the leading local hop variety, the Tsingdao Flower.

What kind of hops are local beers like Yangjing using compared to their counterparts in say, Germany?

A two-gram pack is usually good for a hectoliter of beer in China. It depends on how bitter you want the beer… a German brewer would likely use a six-gram pack. Each market has a different taste. China likes light, lager-type beers so they use more bitter hops than aroma or flavor hops.

How do you see your business changing here in China in your two decades here?

China also has its advantages in costs. Labor and power costs have risen a lot. This is important since hops are picked by hand in China. Machines are used on US and European hop farms. In the future, I think China will follow the trend in the West away from mainstream lagers toward lesser-known craft beers.