The United States Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Research Service (USDA-ARS) hop geneticists, Dr. John Henning (Corvallis, Oregon) and Dr. Kayla Altendorf (Prosser, Washington), share characteristics of the experimental varieties currently in the public breeding programs, with an emphasis on varieties in the Advanced and Elite Line stages. Representatives from the Hop Research Council and Hop Quality Group share details of their programs in support of public hop breeding and ways brewers can get involved.

Learning Objectives

• Learn about the characteristics and genealogy of the hop varieties currently in the Advanced and Elite Line stages of the USDA public hop breeding program
• Sniff experimental varieties and provide sensory feedback to USDA ARS via the SampleOx app
• Hear about opportunities to brew trials with experimental varieties through programs offered by the Hop Research Council and Hop Quality Group

About the Speakers

Kayla Altendorf, Research Geneticist

USDA-ARS

Dr. Kayla Altendorf (she/her) is a Research Geneticist working in hop breeding and genetics with the United States Department of Agriculture's Agriculture Research Service (USDA-ARS) and is based in Prosser, Washington. Kayla holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in plant breeding and molecular genetics from the University of Minnesota. Since 2020, she and her team have been building a new public hop breeding program in the heart of the Yakima Valley, Washington. Kayla's research interests broadly include plant breeding efficiency and pest and disease resistance.

Eric Sannerud, President

Sannerud Hop Consulting

Eric R. Sannerud (he/him) believes brewing is agriculture. As president of Sannerud Hop Consulting, Eric serves brewers, hop farmers, and hop marketers across North America with strategic marketing, product development, and education services. Eric first fell in love with hops as farmer-CEO of Mighty Axe Hops, a fully integrated 80-acre hop farm in Minnesota. He went on to be the hop brand manager for Brewers Supply Group. Today, Eric works with the Hop Research Council to promote brewer engagement with experimental public hops, leads volunteer effort to market Vista hops, and provides expert hop market analysis and education through Hop Notes. He farms with his wife and baby Rosie in Milaca, Minnesota.

Alicia Adler, Executive Technical Director

Hop Research Council

Alicia Adler is the Executive Technical Director at the Hop Research Council (HRC). She assumed this role in August 2022 after 15 years of developing markets and providing technical support for multiple specialty crop industries. In her role, Alicia serves as a key strategic and research leader in the hop industry, providing oversight of HRC-funded projects focused on hop breeding, disease management, pest management, agronomic advancements, and crop sustainability. She partners closely with industry stakeholders to ensure public research benefits all levels of the hop value chain.

John Henning, Research Geneticist

USDA-ARS

Dr. John Henning has led the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Research Service (USDA-ARS) public hop breeding program since taking over leadership from Dr. Alfred Haunold in 1996 and is the lead scientist for USDA’s hop research. John has released 10 hop varieties and 11 germplasm lines with two highly anticipated experimental lines nearing public release (2000010-008 and 2010008-008). His most recent release, Vista, is a seedless hop yielding more than 3,000 lb/ac. John’s work on the hop genome has resulted in the identification of all hop genes and their locations within chromosomes as well as provided the basis for identifying genes and molecular markers for such traits as alpha acids, plant height, downy and powdery mildew, and others of economic importance. Current studies are comparative genomics of terpene compounds across hemp and hops, identification of molecular markers linked to drought tolerance, and assembly and annotation of the Y-chromosome in hops.

Daniel Sharp, Director of Brewing Operations

Hop Quality Group/Ninkasi Brewing Company

Dr. Daniel Sharp is the Chief Product Officer at Ninkasi Brewing Company and Great Frontiers Holding Company in Eugene, Oregon, and a member of the Hop Quality Group. He began his brewing career in Quito, Ecuador at the Center of the World BrewPub in 2006 and began studying brewing science at Oregon State University (OSU) in 2008. Daniel received his M.S. from the Oregon State University Food Science Program under the guidance of Dr. Thomas Shellhammer, focusing on the harvest maturity of Cascade and Willamette hops. In 2012, Daniel received the Fonds-Baillet Latour Scholarship for Brewing Research to fund his PhD research in Dr. Shellhammer’s lab at OSU investigating brewing factors that influence hop aroma in beer. Daniel has published papers in the Master Brewers Association of the Americas (MBAA) Technical Quarterly, Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC), BrewingScience, and the Journal of the Institute of Brewing & Distilling (JIBD), as well as presented research findings at numerous professional conferences. After receiving his Ph.D. from OSU, he joined the Ninkasi team in 2016 to apply his knowledge of hops and brewing science.