Hop to It! Germany's Hallertau Hops Region

HAVE GERMAN WILL TRAVEL Beer Culture DEUTSCHES REINSHEITSGEBOT / GERMAN PURITY LAW beer ingredient: die Bierzutat, die Bierzutaten GERMANY'S HOP ROAD Hop To It! Germany's Hallertau Hops Region "WHAT'S THAT?" asked an American sand acres) of hops fields in eastern with dusty displays of dried plants college student on a bus tour in Ba Bavaria. A pastoral region of rolling under glass. Th.is sleek modern build varia during his first year of study hills planted with hops, barley, and ing is fi lled with fascinating exhibits abroad. wheat-essential ingredients of Ger designed to attract both children and He was pointing to fields full of many's great beers-the Hallertau is adults. And if you haven't already tall, dark brown wooden poles, lined bounded by the cities of Ingolstadt seen plenty of hops growing in the up in neat rows, with lush green vines on the west, Kehlheim (near Regens fields around Wolnzach, you can get growing on wires attached to them. burg) in the north, Landshut on the up close to the vines planted right "That's a telephone-pole field, you east, and Freising to the south. outside the entrance to the museum. idiot," said his companion, an older The fifty-kilometer (thirty-mile) On a visit to the German Hops and-wiser student who had lived in Deutsche Hopfenstrasse ( German Museum last summer, I learned that Germany for the past year. "H aven't Hops Route), runs along highway Germany is the world's largest pro you ever seen one before?" 301 through the middle of this ag ducer of hops, accounting for more "Gee, we don't have anything like ricultural area, between Freising and than two-thirds of the hops grown in that in the U. S.," replied his friend. Abensberg. And in the heart of the Europe and one-third of all the hops "Germany's really an interesting Hallertau, you'll find the Deutsches grown on the globe. Three-fourths of place!" Hopfenmuseum (German Hops Mu Germany's crop is exported to other You might be laughing, but it's seum) located in the little market town countries, mainly the United States, a true story. Of course what he was of Wolnzacb, just off the Autobahn Japan, and Russia. actually seeing ,vere the seemingly between Munich and Regensburg. Like grapevines, the rootstocks of endless hectares of hops fields in the Known as " the green gold of Ba hops can live up to fifty years. Every Hallertau region of Bavaria. varia," hops have been a major ag year after the harvest, the vines are Although hops are grown in sev ricultural product in the H allertau pruned back. In spring, the new hops eral parts of Germany, the H allertau for several centuries. So it's fitting shoots poke out from the ground region ( or Holledau, as it's known that this particular plant has an en - around the vines' roots-and the locally) is at the top of the hops list. tire museum devoted to the history, tendrils from some of the shoots are It's the largest single hops-producing cultivation, harvesting, processing, trained around the wires attached area in the world, covering seven marketing, uses, and culture of hops to those tall wooden (o r sometimes teen thousand one hundred seventy throu ghout the ages. However, don't concrete) poles standing in the fields. hectares (more than forty-two thou- envision some musty old museum The plants can grow up to thirty .

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