Whether you like an IPA with a heavy, hoppy flavor or a stout with an earthy aroma, if it’s beer — then it has hops in it, according to Jaki Brophy, communications director for Yakima-based Hops Growers of America.

Since the explosion of craft breweries, the little hop flower from a plant in the hemp family, has become an agricultural craft in itself. They’re cultivated and prized for qualities that add distinctive flavors and aromas to all manner of beer.

Thanks to fertile soils, plentiful irrigation water and multi-generational family farms, Washington, Oregon and Idaho grow nearly 97 percent of the hops in the United States. Washington’s Yakima Valley accounts for 75 percent of the total.

This rich agricultural climate is complemented by modern regional storage and processing facilities that allow farmers to supply the brewing industry with the highest quality of hops, according to the Hops Growers of America.

While domestic breweries have historically been the heaviest consumers of Northwest hops, there’s a growing appetite around the world.

“As with other agricultural commodities in Washington state, access to international markets is key to growth,” said Steve Balaski, NWSA’s senior business development manager. “Yakima’s close proximity to our gateway means they have lower transportation costs, improving their competitive position. They are able to provide a high-quality product at a competitive price to their international customers. Our goal at the NWSA is to ensure hops move efficiently and quickly through our gateway.”

The NWSA exported more than $69 million of hops in 2017, a 36 percent increase from 2015. The NWSA has a 60.8 percent share of export volume.

“We’re seeing a lot of craft breweries popping up in international markets. We’re very optimistic about increasing what we export,” said Brophy, who spent a week checking out new craft breweries in Australia this summer.

New breweries are also cropping up in countries that we don’t traditionally associate with beer like Brazil, Shanghai, Sweden, India, the Czech Republic and Russia.

Additionally, more breweries are exploring inventive ways to produce their brew. According to Brophy, there were about 30 varieties of hops ten years ago. Today there are more than 80 varieties identified by characteristics like fruity, citrus, floral, grassy and even spicy.

The flavors and aromas come from resins and oils inside the lupulin glands of the hop cones. For a long time, hops were mostly used in lighter beers early in the brewing process as a bittering agent to balance out sweet-ness. With the advent of craft breweries and the growing popularity of hop aromas, they are added to more types of beer during more stages of the brewing process.

“As a result, some beers require four to five times as many hops than their lighter counterparts like a pilsner,” Brophy said.

The flavors and aromas of a single hop variety can also change depending on when the crop is harvested. “Each variety has its own window,” she said. “Early on, it can smell fruity, like bubble gum; leave it later it can smell like pine. Leave it even later, it can smell dank.”

By the way, dank isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, many beer enthusiasts like Brophy admit enjoying a wide array of beer styles depending on the time of the year.

“On a cold day, I like a good, dark porter,” Brophy said. “But just after harvest season, there are a few weeks when you can get ‘wet hop’ beer. It uses hops that haven’t been kilned — that’s the best.”