Carlsberg maps the hop genome to speed breeding of climate-resilient varieties
Carlsberg Research Laboratory has published a highly detailed hop genome map in Nature Communications. The work is designed to accelerate breeding for heat and drought tolerance while opening new options for quality and aroma.
Carlsberg Research Laboratory says it has produced the most detailed genetic map of hops to date and has published the work in Nature Communications. For agriculture, the result goes well beyond brewing. Hops are a specialised crop that is highly sensitive to heat, drought and changing growing conditions, so a better genetic blueprint matters directly to yield stability, raw-material quality and the long-term resilience of hop production under climate pressure.
The laboratory notes that hop genetics are unusually difficult to work with. The genome is large, comparable in size to the human genome, highly repetitive and further complicated by the plant's reproductive biology: male and female flowers grow on separate plants, but only female plants produce the cones valued by brewers. That complexity has long slowed the rate at which breeders could improve the crop and limited how precisely they could target traits.
In the new study, CRL scientists built a high-resolution map of all chromosomes in a commercially important hop variety. As in humans, hops carry two versions of each chromosome, one from each parent, and the new map captures both versions in detail. That matters because modern hop breeding often combines European and North American lineages to improve brewing performance. The map shows how those lineages are arranged in the plant's DNA and how they contribute to key traits.
Carlsberg argues that the practical impact could be substantial. The new genetic map should help breeders develop hops that better tolerate heat, drought and shifting growing conditions; discover new flavour and aroma profiles; and shorten a breeding process that previously could take more than a decade of crossing and testing. The company also says more resilient and efficient varieties could reduce input needs while preserving quality, which would be directly relevant for specialised growers facing climate volatility.
Birgitte Skadhauge, vice president and head of the laboratory, said the research was being shared because climate-related crop challenges are larger than any one company. Ilka Braumann, head of hop development, said separating European and North American lineages inside the genome gives breeders a clearer route to developing better and more resilient varieties. For the market, that means hop improvement may become faster, more targeted and less dependent on trial-and-error selection.
The laboratory also presents the work as part of a longer scientific line that previously included major research on barley and yeast. By adding a detailed genomic view of hops, it says it has now advanced understanding of the three key non-water ingredients of beer. From an agricultural perspective, the broader significance is that applied genomics is becoming a more practical tool for improving niche crops, strengthening supply chains and reducing climate risk in high-value specialist plant production.