Hop family
Czech and Slovenian hops
Central European varieties from the Žatec and Styrian growing regions, spicy and herbal with low harshness.
Žatec — Saaz in German — and the Styrian valleys have grown aroma hops for centuries, and the varieties from both carry a soft, spicy, herbal character at low alpha. Saaz defines what a Czech pale lager smells like to the point that the style is difficult to make convincingly without it.
The Slovenian half of the grouping carries a genetic footnote worth knowing: Styrian Golding is not a Golding. It is Fuggle, brought from England in the nineteenth century and renamed, and it tastes more like its English parent than like anything grown nearby.
What unites them
Grown in the Czech and Slovenian traditions, generally low in cohumulone and high in humulene, giving a soft bitterness and a spicy, herbal, lightly floral aroma suited to lager and to Belgian ale.
Grouped by where they are grown.
Varieties carrying this character
- Aurora
A Slovenian dual-purpose hop with a resinous, floral character and moderate bitterness.
- Bobek
A Slovenian aroma hop descended from Northern Brewer, softer and more floral than its parent.
- Celeia
A gentle Slovenian aroma hop in the Styrian tradition, with soft floral and herbal notes.
- Harmonie
A Czech aroma hop bred as a higher-yielding companion to Saaz.
- Kazbek
A Czech variety with noble spice alongside a distinct lemon and grapefruit brightness.
- Lublin
A Polish landrace closely related to Saaz, delicate and spicy with a soft herbal edge.
- Premiant
A Czech dual-purpose hop with clean bitterness and a mild, pleasant spicy-herbal aroma.
- Saaz
The defining hop of Czech pale lager: delicate, spicy and floral, with an exceptionally soft bitterness.
- Sládek
A Czech aroma hop with Saaz-like spice plus a brighter fruit and citrus character.
- Styrian Goldings
A Slovenian hop that is genetically a Fuggle despite the name — earthy and herbal with a distinct lemon lift.
10 varieties, grouped by character rather than by pedigree — so hops bred elsewhere to a family’s profile are listed alongside its traditional members, and the count will not always match a list of names given above. A hop can also belong to more than one family. The hop index carries every variety.