Hallertau Hop Harvest 2023
Around the end of August or the beginning of September, hops are harvested in Europe. I have been lucky to visit the Hallertau hop harvest in Germany for the last two years, so thought I would share my experience with you.
The Hallertau is a small region in Bavaria where almost 90% of German hops are grown; about ⅓ of the world’s hop growth. Hallertau Mittelfruh, the noble landrace variety, is from the area. Landrace hops are those that we have not bred - we found them growing and started using them; they haven’t changed from this time. However, the problem with landrace and other older varieties, is that their ideal growing conditions are being affected by climate change. Changes in temperatures and rain levels throughout the seasons are causing lower yields from these hops as well as lower alpha acid and oil levels.
Over time, we have bred varieties to try to combat pests and diseases. Powdery mildew is a big problem in hop agriculture, arriving in Europe in 1924 from Asia. In 1926 the Society for Hop Research (GfH) opened and began to develop hop varieties to help combat agricultural issues. Older varieties of hops will stop growing when they flower. Newer varieties have been developed to continue to grow after flowering and build more flowers, producing a higher yield of hops. Some newer varieties can also work well in conditions where we see later rain.
Hops as far as the eye can see - the different shades of green come from different varieties.
During my travels in the Hallertau I have been able to visit a hop farm and the Society for Hop Research. The farm I visited had a good mix of older and newer varieties, producing a balance for brewer's needs. We saw Hallertau Mittelfruh being grown alongside newer varieties such as Herkules and Polaris. Herkules was developed in 2005 to fill a hop shortage at the time. A huge amount is grown across the Hallertau region today. The hop farm we visited is very open to growing newer varieties, such as Polaris, Hallertau Blanc and Hüll melon. Polaris was released in 2012 and is an aroma hop. Aroma hops are used by brewers primarily to impact the aroma of beer. Conversely, a hop such as Herkules may be used for bittering - added earlier in the boil where the alpha acids are isomerised into bittering compounds. Bittering hops will generally have higher alpha acid contents.
See my blog post about hops to learn more about how they are used in the brewing process here.
This year during our visit to the hop farm we clearly saw the effects of climate change on the hop growing industry. Not only had harvest been put back a week, as weather conditions had not been good; a freak storm had hit the farm and caused massive damage. An entire hop field had been flattened by winds, bending metal poles to the ground and snapping wooden hop poles. The owner of the farm told us that almost all of the hops from that field would be lost due to this and it was estimated to be around 200K euros of damage! Luckily, the farm was insured and they were very positive about what they could do with the situation. The fallen bines meant that pest and disease measures could be checked more easily as you need to look at the top of the bine to check results. It also gave the farm the opportunity to redesign the field, potentially using concrete poles to replace wooden ones. These would then last for up to 65 years. However, work to remove the fallen hops and clear the field for repair was going to be long, slow work as they did not want to compact the ground. This would make it more difficult to grow next year’s hops.
A hop field damaged by a freak storm - high winds and the weight of the hops themselves snapped and bent poles. Hops on the ground cannot be harvested.
Learning about the hop cultivation process at the Society for Hop Research, Hüll
At the Society for Hop Research we were shown how hop varieties are developed and the change over time of which are grown. In the 1970s only 7 varieties were grown in the Hallertau - there are now 38 different varieties being grown across the region. This is further broken down into landrace varieties, foreign varieties (such as Cascade) and those developed by the Society.
Data shared from GfH detailing the shift in hop varities grown in the Hallertau.
To discover how hops can withstand drought, climate change, pests and diseases, the Society goes through a multi-year process. They begin by growing hops from seeds; the seedlings are then subjected to many diseases and pesticides to see which survive. From there the plants are cultivated further and tested for resistance, aroma and bittering qualities, yield and climate resistance. If the bines pass this test, they are then planted into the fields and checked for agronomic performance and moved forward into brewing trials. Finally, if the variety passes all of these tests it can become commercially available and will be given a name - this process can take up to 12 years to complete. The newest varieties from the Society are Titan and Tango. Titan is resistant to powdery mildew and heat changes. It has a high alpha acid content and exhibits classic hop aromas. Tango is more fruity and another sustainable option as it is also resistant to higher temperatures and diseases. It has been bred from Cascade and has notes of citrus, passion fruit and grapefruit. Brewers who are looking for these qualities in their hops can now look to these as options that are more sustainable, will be more widely available and more economical. Older varieties will become more expensive and harder to come by as the yields get lower over time.
A selection of 2023 crop hops developed by GfH. Left to right - Hallertau Tradition, Mandarina Bavaria, Hallertau Blanc, Tango, Herkules and Titan.
A highlight for me at GfH was the story of Elon Musk’s beer! There is a wall of bottles at the Society, showcasing beers that have been made in collaboration with different breweries. One of these beer bottles looks like it should actually be on a shelf alongside perfumes. When we asked what this was, we were told that this is Elon Musk’s beer. He wanted to be able to create a beer using Cyberhops, but these do not exist and to brew a beer in Germany you have to put the variety name on the packaging. Therefore, he came to the Society for Hop Research and took a variety that did not have a name yet and created a beer with it - just so they could be called Cyberhops! It is not thought that the variety will keep the name if it becomes commercially viable, however!
Elon Musk’s beer brewed with Cyberhops from GfH
Of course, a visit to Bavaria wouldn’t be complete without dirndls and lederhosen! Our tour timing this year coincided with Gillamoos in Abensberg. Gillamoos is a Volksfest - a people’s festival, much like Oktoberfest. These festivals are held all over Germany and include a beer festival and a funfair. Gillamoos has Christian roots, as it began at a market for those who were going on a pilgrimage to honour Saint Giles. Pilgrims would begin their journey at a small chapel called St. Gilgen im Moos (Saint Giles in moss) on 1st September. To honour this, Gillamoos opens its doors on the Thursday before the first Sunday in September each year. As with Oktoberfest, it’s fun to wear local dress, have a few maß of beer and dance on a table while you are there! We also got to see the Dirndlkoenigin (the Dirndl Queen) tap the first keg of beer for the opening of the festival.
Fun times at Gillamoos!
We hired our outfits - I’m thinking I might make my own set for next year, what do you think?
If you get the opportunity to check out the hop fields in Germany, I would recommend the trip. There is a lot to learn about how those little green nuggets are being affected by climate change and what is being done to make sure we still have them available for our favourite beers.
Do you have any questions about my trip? Let me know in the comments!
