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The brewing industry’s fight against climate change has taken a major scientific step forward, with the Carlsberg Research Laboratory (CRL) unveiling what it describes as the most detailed genetic map of hops ever produced.

Published in Nature Communications, the open-access research is being shared freely with scientists, breeders and growers worldwide to help accelerate the development of more climate-resilient hop varieties while unlocking new flavour opportunities for brewers.

The announcement comes as hop-growing regions across Europe and North America face mounting challenges from rising temperatures, prolonged droughts and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns that are already impacting both crop yields and hop quality.

Birgitte Skadhauge, vice president and head of the Carlsberg Research Laboratory, said: “Challenges like climate change are bigger than any one company. By sharing our hop genome research in Nature Communications, we are giving scientists and breeders everywhere tools to protect crops, to innovate, and to help secure the future of beer.”

The new study provides an unprecedented look into the complex genetics of hops, one of beer’s four traditional ingredients alongside water, barley and yeast.

CRL scientists created a high-resolution map of all the chromosomes in a commercially important hop variety, capturing both inherited chromosome sets in detail.

The breakthrough allows researchers to better understand how different genetic lineages contribute to brewing traits such as flavour, aroma, resilience and yield.

Hops are particularly difficult to study genetically due to their large and repetitive genome structure, which is comparable in size to the human genome. Their unusual reproductive biology further complicates breeding efforts, as only female plants produce the cones used in brewing.

According to CRL, the new genome map separates European and North American hop lineages with far greater precision than previously possible, creating a clearer path for breeders developing next-generation hop varieties.

 Ilka Braumann, head of hop development at the Carlsberg Research Laboratory, said: “Hops are genetically far more complex than most people realise, and that complexity has limited how quickly we can improve them. By separating the European and North American lineages in the genome, we can now see how different traits come together, giving us a much clearer path to developing better, more resilient hop varieties.”

By making the genome research publicly available, CRL hopes to support faster and more precise breeding efforts across the global brewing and agricultural sectors.

Potential applications include:

• Developing hop varieties that can better tolerate heat, drought and changing climate conditions

• Improving crop stability and long-term supply security for brewers and growers

• Accelerating breeding timelines that traditionally take more than a decade

• Unlocking new flavour and aroma profiles for beer innovation

• Supporting more sustainable farming practices with crops requiring fewer agricultural inputs

For brewers, the research could ultimately help preserve both the consistency of beer production and the diversity of flavour profiles consumers increasingly expect.

Founded in 1875 by brewer and philanthropist J.C. Jacobsen, the Carlsberg Research Laboratory has long played a pivotal role in brewing science and beyond.

The laboratory has previously contributed to major advances in barley and yeast genome research and is widely recognised for scientific breakthroughs, including the invention of the pH scale.

With the publication of its hop genome research, CRL says it has now strengthened scientific understanding of all three traditional non-water brewing ingredients: barley, yeast and hops.

The laboratory added that long-term funding support from the Carlsberg Foundations allows it to pursue ambitious research projects with broader societal implications, including agricultural innovation aimed at improving food security in the face of climate change.