Hop Contracts
ALL ABOUT FORWARD CONTRACTING HOPS WITH CHARLES FARAM
All about forward contracting hops with Charles Faram
Who to contact about your hop contract
Email: o[email protected] with the contract request form.
We will then be able to advise you on availability and prices.
If you need more help and advice in setting up a contract, please call the team.
Who to contact about your hop contract
Send an email to
with the contract request form.
We will then be able to advise you on availability and prices.
If you need more help and advice in setting up a contract, please call the team.
What do you need to know about hop contracts?
- Charles Faram & Co Ltd strongly recommends forward contracting your hops for your security of supply.
- All hop contracts are based on a calendar brew year. As an example, northern hemisphere 2025 brew year hops will be primarily from the 2024 crop, although we reserve the right to supply the previous year’s crop against a contract.
- All hops will be contracted in 5kg or 20kg increments.
- Our total contract minimum is 40kg and these can be mixed varieties.
- We do not buy back your “unused” hops. You are expected to purchase and pay for ALL the hops that you contract. At our discretion, any stock released from a contract will be subject to a 20% charge of the value of the amount released.
- Hop growing is a long-term business. Each plant crops once a year and if you have unused hops then, as a general rule, we may not be able to help you to find another home for them before the next crop arrives. However, we’re famous for our flexibility at Faram’s and we will always listen to your contract amendment requests to try and find a mutually beneficial solution. Some varieties will be easier to make changes to than others.
- Hop varieties mature and are harvested at different times so there is no way to predict when the new crop of a specific variety will arrive at our stores. Priority will be given to varieties that we are out of or low on stock.
- Varieties that are protected by a registered trade name can and do sell out quickly.
- All of our hop prices are based on a sustainable pricing model to encourage growers to grow the hops for you.
- All of our prices are ex-cold store Newland and may be shipped with other brewing ingredients.
- All of our hops are rotated on a first in first out basis.
- Prices and availability for spot hops (quantities left over after contracts are fulfilled) are subject to change on a daily basis which is why we suggest that you consider contracting your hop needs.
Why contract?
- Growers have one customer for hops – breweries.
- It takes a whole year and a lot of input, effort and expense to grow, pick, dry and pack a crop of hops.
- If no contracts are forthcoming – unlikely a grower will risk spending money.
- If a grower doesn’t grow the hops the brewer has nothing to brew beer with.
- A contract secures hop supply for the brewer and a sale for the grower.
Do I need to contract?
- If your recipes are not dependent on certain varieties you could risk it and buy totally from the spot market.
- However some brewers have been struggling to get hold of the varieties they need and found out how painful it could be when they can’t get the varieties required.
- At the same time the other breweries (with long-term contracts) were getting everything they needed at reasonable prices.
Northern hemisphere hop contracts
Let us have your contract request by the 30th of June.
The year of the contract goes by when the hops were harvested, see the contract dates table for examples.
All products must be shipped by the 30th of November of the year following the contracted harvest year. At any time following the 30th of November of the year after harvest, Charles Faram & Co Ltd may declare the full outstanding amount due and payable and mitigate its damages by selling the contracted product.
Free storage until the 30th of November of the year following harvest then a £0.05 per kg per month fee will apply.
The Northern Hemisphere harvest normally begins in late August and ends in Early October, however shipment to our stores and pelleting and packing typically runs from November to February.
New Zealand hop contracts
Let us have your contract request by the 30th of November.
The year of the contract goes by when the hops were harvested, see the contract dates table for examples.
All products must be shipped by the 30th of June of the year following the contracted harvest year. At any time following the 30th of June of the year after harvest, Charles Faram & Co Ltd may declare the full outstanding amount due and payable and mitigate its damages by selling the contracted product.
Free storage until the 30th of June of the year following harvest then a £0.05 per kg per month fee will apply.
New Zealand hops are harvested in March each year and typically arrive at our store by early July, pellets take longer and can arrive as late as mid-August.
