Hop Breeding Company Launches Terra Alpha Hops: A New Generation of High-Alpha Varieties
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Editorial Dept.
Hop Breeding Company is introducing a new chapter in high-alpha hop innovation with the launch of its Terra Alpha Hops series. The new platform focuses on creating reliable, sustainable hop varieties that support both growers and brewers. The Terra Alpha series features TerraSurge and TerraFlux – two high-alpha hop varieties developed to deliver consistent performance and quality bitterness.
A press release from Hop Breeding Company announced that TerraSurge and TerraFlux are now available through Yakima Chief Hops and John I. Haas.
At its core, Terra Alpha Hops represent HBC’s long-term platform for high-alpha hop innovation. Inspired by the foundational role alpha hops play in brewing, the Terra line is built around sustainability, performance, and consistent, quality bitterness.
HBC is best known for flavor-forward varieties such as Citra® HBC 394, Mosaic® HBC 369, and Krush® HBC 586. With Terra Alpha, HBC is showcasing two premier high-alpha bittering hops: TerraSurge™ HBC 1325 and TerraFlux™ HBC 682.
TerraSurge is HBC’s newest high-alpha variety, combining exceptionally high yield with powdery mildew resistance and a late harvest window. Together, these agronomic advantages give growers greater flexibility and offer the potential for more efficient, sustainable hop production.
“TerraSurge encompasses every innovation we’ve developed over the last seven years. It’s a breakthrough,” says Michael Ferguson, Director of Hop Breeding at John I. Haas. “That’s what we want a hop to look like.”
Dean Monshing, Chief Sales Officer at Yakima Chief Hops, agrees: “The future of alpha depends on varieties that consistently perform in the field as well as the brewhouse. TerraSurge was bred for exactly that: a vigorous, high-yielding cultivar grown in the Pacific Northwest and designed to deliver dependable performance year after year. As brewers look to diversify their alpha sourcing and build resilience into their supply chains, TerraSurge gives them a foundation they can rely on.”
Meanwhile, the TerraFlux name brings a new identity to the established variety HBC 682, commercially grown since 2018. With more than 36 million pounds produced to date, its impressive history makes TerraFlux a natural complement to the newly introduced TerraSurge.
“HBC is well known for our intense flavor-forward hops, but innovation in alpha has also been an important part of our breeding program,” says Jennifer Burns, Executive Director of Hop
Breeding Company. “TerraFlux has already proven itself at commercial scale, and TerraSurge represents the next generation of that work. With our Terra Alpha series, we’re giving that part of our portfolio an identity of its own.”
For brewers seeking consistent, high-quality bitterness from hops grown in the United States, Terra Alpha Hops offer a new generation of sustainable high-alpha varieties built for performance.
About Hop Breeding Company, LLC
Hop Breeding Company, LLC is a leader in hop breeding and research, dedicated to developing innovative hop varieties that meet the evolving needs of the brewing industry. Through rigorous testing and collaboration with brewers worldwide, HBC continues to advance hop cultivation, performance, and quality. HBC is a joint venture between John I. Haas, Inc. and Yakima Chief Ranches, LLC.
TerraSurge™ and TerraFlux™ are trademarks of Hop Breeding Company, LLC.
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