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I knew that the US hop industry was initially centred on the East Coast, mostly in New York State. Then later mostly on the West Coast. But when did it move?

Luckily, I’ve come across some numbers that answer the question. God, I love numbers. Sometimes I think they’re my only true friends.

The last year when more than 50% of the US hop crop came from New York State was 1892. The percentages I’ve calculated myself.

Estimated hop production of the United States, 1889–1899.
Crop. Pacific coast New York Total
Bales % Bales % Bales
1889 106,157 48.78% 111,461 51.22% 217,618
1890 105,619 51.56% 99,229 48.44% 204,848
1891 94,000 45.19% 114,000 54.81% 208,000
1892 105,000 47.09% 118,000 52.91% 223,000
1893 143,000 53.36% 125,000 46.64% 268,000
1894 179,500 56.18% 140,000 43.82% 319,500
1895 180,300 62.11% 110,000 37.89% 290,300
1896 103,000 57.87% 75,000 42.13% 178,000
1897 152,000 66.96% 75,000 33.04% 227,000
1898 151,950 70.04% 65,000 29.96% 216,950
1899 182,000 75.83% 58,000 24.17% 240,000
Total 11 years 1,502,526 57.92% 1,090,690 42.04% 2,594,216
Source:
"Hop Culture in California" by Daniel Flint, 1900, Government Printing Office Washington, page 25.


There’s the when taken care of. What about the why? The same pamphlet has some more detailed numbers by state and they seem to provide the answer.

I’d always assumed it was because of disease on the East Coast. But there’s another reason that leaps out from these numbers:

Acreage, yield, and value of hops in the United States in 1889.
States. Acres. Bales. Value. bales per acre price per bale
New York 36,670 111,461 $2,210,137 3.04 $19.83
Washington 5,113 46,185 841,206 9.03 $18.21
California 3,974 36,374 605,842 9.15 $16.66
Oregon 3,130 20,076 322,700 6.41 $16.07
Wisconsin 967 2,381 51,983 2.46 $21.83
Other States 358 1,141 27,829 3.19 $24.39
Total 50,212 217,618 4,059,697 4.33 $18.66
Source:
"Hop Culture in California" by Daniel Flint, 1900, Government Printing Office Washington, page 24.

The two rightmost columns are my own calculations from the other numbers. A bale was 180 lbs, in case you’re wondering. The bales per acre is what tells a story. The yield on the West Coast was way higher than in New York. Though someone must have liked the New York hops as the price per bale is higher.

The numbers for 1890 are similar, except the price of hops was much higher.

Acreage, yield, and value of hops in the United States in 1890.
States. Acres. Bales. Value. bales per acre price per bale
New York 35,552 99,229 $6,068,163 2.79 $61.15
Washington 5,282 49,348 2,284,955 9.34 $46.30
California 3,796 31,761 1,521,847 8.37 $47.92
Oregon 3,223 21,174 1,047,224 6.57 $49.46
Wisconsin 871 2,556 142,198 2.93 $55.63
Other States 238 780 41,037 3.28 $52.61
Total 48,962 204,848 11,105,424 4.18 $54.21
Source:
"Hop Culture in California" by Daniel Flint, 1900, Government Printing Office Washington, page 24.


I don’t quite understand why the price of hops had trebled when the total produced wasn’t that much less.

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