Survey - Linking Craft Brewers With Local Hops
2015-03-20, 10:13 PM
Survey - Linking Craft Brewers With Local Hops
Help BC's hop farmers and suppliers of BC grown hops better understand what brewers want when it
comes to locally grown hops. This survey is part of a research project funded by BC's Investment
Agriculture Foundation to build capacity amongst BC's hop farmers and suppliers. Deliverables from
this project include a current assessment of the market for BC grown hops amongst BC's craft
breweries, a report on the feasibility of small scale hop farming in BC from a business perspective
and a business plan template specifically for small scale commercial hop growers and prospective
growers. Your answers may be used in technical reports in consolidated format only. Should you be
unwilling to answer any of the questions below please simply move on to the next question. Thank
you for your participation and your interest in BC's hop farming industry!
1. What is the name of your brewery or brewpub?
This helps us keep track of who we've heard from. If you would prefer your answers to be
anonymous please skip this question.
2. What kind of brewery operation are you?
Are you a brewpub or a production brewery (i.e. a brewery that distributes its product to other
establishments and retailers)
Mark only one oval.
Brewpub Only
Production Brewery Only (with or without store/lounge)
Brewpub with Production Brewery
3. How much beer does your brewery produce annually?
(i.e. your annual production volume in hectolitres (HL))
Mark only one oval.
0 - 2000 HL/yr
2000 - 5000 HL/yr
5000 - 15000 HL/yr
15000 - 50000 HL/yr
50000 - 75000 HL/yr
Greater Than 75000 HL/yr
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Survey - Linking Craft Brewers With Local Hops
2015-03-20, 10:13 PM
4. What quantity of hops - in kg - does your
brewery purchase or consume annually?
Please estimate in kilograms per year (kg/yr). If
reporting your consumption in another unit
please include the unit in your answer.
5. How much of your brewery's annual hops consumption is made up by aroma hops?
Mark only one oval.
0-25%
25-50%
50-75%
Greater than 75%
6. How much of your brewery's annual hops consumption is made up by bittering hops?
Mark only one oval.
0-25%
25-50%
50-75%
Greater than 75%
7. Has your brewery ever brewed with BC grown hops at a commercial scale?
Brewing test batches on the pilot system doesn't count.
Mark only one oval.
Yes
No
8. If your brewery has brewed with BC grown hops at a commercial scale, would you do it
again if the quality was the same or better?
Mark only one oval.
Yes
No
9. Do you currently have access to a source of good quality, locally grown BC hops?
Mark only one oval.
Yes
No
Other:
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Survey - Linking Craft Brewers With Local Hops
2015-03-20, 10:13 PM
10. Where does you brewery currently source its hops?
Please select all that apply
Check all that apply.
Grow your own hops
Contract or partner directly with a BC farmer to grow hops for you
Hops broker (e.g. Country Malt, Hop Union, Hop Steiner)
Retail sales channel (e.g. online store or home-brew shop)
Other:
11. If you do currently have access to a source of good quality, locally grown BC hops, are
they able to consistently meet your demand for the product?
Mark only one oval.
Yes
No
Other:
12. If your source for BC grown hops is not currently able to meet your demand for their
product, how much more would you purchase if you could
Please indicate how much MORE you would purchase from your local BC grown supplier if they
could meet your full demand for their product.
Mark only one oval.
Less than 25%
25-50%
50-75%
75-100%
100-200% (1 - 2 x what you purchase now)
200-500% (2 - 5 x what you purchase now)
500-1000% (5 - 10 x what you purchase now)
Greater than 1000%
Other:
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Survey - Linking Craft Brewers With Local Hops
2015-03-20, 10:13 PM
13. If you source hops directly from your own farm operation or a BC farmer, how much of
your total consumption does this supply?
Please estimate the % of hops your brewery consumes annually from these sources.
Mark only one oval.
0-5%
5-10%
10-25%
25-50%
50-75%
75-99%
100%
14. Is your brewery currently equipped to brew with whole dried hops and/or fresh hops?
Mark only one oval.
Yes
No
We can do it but it's a pain
15. What form of hops do you purchase currently?
Mark only one oval.
Whole dried hops
Pelletized hops
We purchase both whole dried and pelletized hops
16. If you purchase both pelletized and whole dried hops, how much of this is in pelletized
form?
% of your hops purchases that are in pelletized form
Mark only one oval.
Greater than 90%
75-90%
50-75%
25-50%
10-25%
Less than 10%
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Survey - Linking Craft Brewers With Local Hops
2015-03-20, 10:13 PM
17. On a scale of 1-5, how important is price point when purchasing hops?
With 1 being not important and 5 being extremely important
Mark only one oval.
1
2
3
4
5
Not important
Extremely important
18. On a scale of 1-5, how important is it that hops be processed into pellets?
With 1 being not important and 5 being extremely important.
Mark only one oval.
1
2
3
4
5
Not important
Extremely important
19. On a scale of 1-5, how important is it that hops be consistently high quality?
With 1 being not important and 5 being extremely important.
Mark only one oval.
1
2
3
4
5
Not important
Extremely important
20. On a scale of 1-5, how much interest do you have in securing a source for local (i.e. BC
grown) hops that meet your specifications?
With 1 being not interested and 5 being extremely interested.
Mark only one oval.
1
Not interested
2
3
4
5
Extremely interested
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Survey - Linking Craft Brewers With Local Hops
2015-03-20, 10:13 PM
21. Which of the following hop varieties would you be interested in purchasing from local (i.e.
BC based) growers?
Please check all that apply. Note that registered, licensed varieties like Amarillo and Citra cannot
be grown in BC at this time but are included in the list as these varieties may become available in
the future.
Check all that apply.
Cascade
Centennial
Columbus
Chinook
US Goldings
Fuggles
Nugget
Willamette
Sterling
Northern Brewer
Magnum
Challenger
Galena
Amarillo
Citra
Simcoe
Mosaic
Bramling Cross
Liberty
Crystal
Calypso
Summit
Other:
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Survey - Linking Craft Brewers With Local Hops
2015-03-20, 10:13 PM
22. What would be your top 2 picks for locally grown hops
Please check only 2 boxes. Note that registered, licensed hop varieties are not included in the list
in order to get a better sense of the hop varieties that can be grown in BC at this time that brewers
would prefer to purchase from local sources.
Check all that apply.
Cascade
Centennial
Columbus
Chinook
US Goldings
Fuggles
Nugget
Willamette
Sterling
Northern Brewer
Magnum
Challenger
Galena
Bramling Cross
Liberty
Calypso
Summit
Other:
23. Do you prefer to purchase hops from a single supplier or multiple suppliers?
Mark only one oval.
Single Supplier
Multiple Suppliers
24. Why?
Help us better understand why you prefer to work with a single supplier or multiple suppliers.
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Survey - Linking Craft Brewers With Local Hops
2015-03-20, 10:13 PM
25. How many different hops suppliers do you regularly purchase from?
A regular supplier is one you either contract with or purchase from at least once per year.
Mark only one oval.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
26. How do you prefer to purchase your hops?
Would you prefer to purchase your hops through contracts (e.g. annual forward contracting), or
without contracts (includes spot market purchases and purchases through retail channels).
Contracts allow brewers to secure a supply of specific hops at set prices for the year and commit
the brewery to annual purchasing requirements. Without contracts, breweries have no obligation
to purchase a set volume of hops, and can only purchase what is available for "spot" purchases
and at "spot" prices.
Mark only one oval.
I prefer to contract for my hops
I prefer not to contract for my hops
Other:
27. Why?
Help us better understand why you prefer to contract or not contract for your hops.
28. If you contract for your hops, what purchasing practice do you employ to select a supplier
to contract with?
Mark only one oval.
We regularly issue tenders for the hops we wish to contract for
We have no formal tender process (e.g. process may include selecting based on
comparison of pricing and availability information from multiple suppliers)
Other:
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Survey - Linking Craft Brewers With Local Hops
2015-03-20, 10:13 PM
29. How important is the following when deciding who to purchase hops from: Product
Quality?
On a scale of 1-5, how important is the quality of the hops (includes consistency of quality, alpha
acid content, degree of cone shattering, quality of pellets, freshness, flavours, etc.).
Mark only one oval.
1
2
3
4
5
Not Important
Extremely Important
30. How important is the following when deciding who to purchase hops from: Product Price?
On a scale of 1-5, how important is the price of the hops being purchased when deciding who to
purchase from?
Mark only one oval.
1
2
3
4
5
Not Important
Extremely Important
31. How important is the following when deciding who to purchase hops from: Buying Local?
On a scale of 1-5, how important would it be to purchase hops that are grown locally (e.g. in
British Columbia)?
Mark only one oval.
1
2
3
4
5
Not Important
Extremely Important
32. How important is the following when deciding who to purchase hops from: Varieties and
Selection?
On a scale of 1-5, how important is it that your suppliers maintain a wide selection of hop
varieties?
Mark only one oval.
1
2
3
4
5
Not Important
Extremely Important
33. How important is the following when deciding who to purchase hops from: Customer
Service?
On a scale of 1-5, how important is the quality of customer service provided by your suppliers?
Mark only one oval.
1
Not Important
2
3
4
5
Extremely Important
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Survey - Linking Craft Brewers With Local Hops
2015-03-20, 10:13 PM
34. All else being equal, would you consider switching to local BC grown suppliers for some
or all of your hops if the option was available?
Assumes factors such as varieties, product quality, consistency, and price of local BC hops are
equivalent to those of your current suppliers.
Mark only one oval.
Yes
No
35. All else being equal, would you consider switching to local BC grown suppliers for some
or all of your hops if the option was available AND if it meant paying a price premium?
Assumes varieties, product quality, and consistency of local BC hops are equivalent to those of
your current suppliers but they are priced higher.
Mark only one oval.
Yes
No
36. If you would consider paying a price premium for BC grown hops, how much of a premium
would you pay?
Mark only one oval.
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
Greater than 25%
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Survey - Linking Craft Brewers With Local Hops
2015-03-20, 10:13 PM
37. If you would consider switching, what proportion of your annual hops consumption would
you like to purchase from local BC grown suppliers?
Please select a percentage below.
Mark only one oval.
0-10%
10-20%
20-30%
30-40%
40-50%
50-60%
60-70%
70-80%
80-90%
90-100%
38. How do you think prices for your hops should be determined?
Mark only one oval.
I would prefer commodity/market pricing that fluctuates based on crop yields, supply and
demand
I would prefer a fixed price for my hops that does not fluctuate
I'm fine with either fluctuating commodity pricing or fixed pricing
Other:
39. How much would you be willing to pay per pound for BC grown, high quality, pelletized
hops?
Please suggest a price per pound you would be willing to pay for BC grown hop varieties you are
interested in.
Mark only one oval.
Less than $8 per dry pound (pelletized)
$8-$10 per dry pound (pelletized)
$10-12 per dry pound (pelletized)
$12-14 per dry pound (pelletized)
$14-16 per dry pound (pelletized)
$16-18 per dry pound (pelletized)
$18-20 per dry pound (pelletized)
Greater than $20 per dry pound (pelletized)
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Survey - Linking Craft Brewers With Local Hops
2015-03-20, 10:13 PM
40. How much would you be willing to pay per pound for BC grown, high quality, whole dried
hops?
Please suggest a price per pound you would be willing to pay for BC grown hop varieties you are
interested in.
Mark only one oval.
Less than $8 per dry pound (pelletized)
$8-$10 per dry pound (pelletized)
$10-12 per dry pound (pelletized)
$12-14 per dry pound (pelletized)
$14-16 per dry pound (pelletized)
$16-18 per dry pound (pelletized)
$18-20 per dry pound (pelletized)
Greater than $20 per dry pound (pelletized)
41. What interests you most about BC grown hops?
Examples might include: interest in a distinctive BC flavour and aroma character, desire to support
local hops industry, buy local ethic, issues with existing suppliers, etc.
42. Thank you! Is there anything else we should have asked you about or that you would like
to comment on?
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