The New Zealand hops industry goes from strength to strength, with $50m in export sales, 200 craft breweries and more hectares being planted every year. Hops are hot. Some people are even predicting that hops could go the way of grapes as the craft beer industry explodes like wine did in the 1980s. But how sustainable is this growth, what cultivars show the most promise and why are hops only found in Motueka? Vincent was joined by the leading scientists behind NZ’s hop breeding programme, Ron Beatson who has recently retired and his successor, Kerry Templeton, senior scientists with Plant & Food.