The Hop Research Center Hüll (''Hopfenforschungszentrum Hüll'') is a research institution focussing on advances in hop breeding, hop harvesting, and hop chemistry. It is located in the

Hallertau The Hallertau ( or ) or Holledau is an area in Bavaria, Germany. With an area of 178 km2, it is listed as the largest continuous hops, hop-planting area in the world.Bentley, James; Catling, Christopher; & Locke, Tim (1994). ''Munich and Ba ...

, the largest continuous hop-planting area in the world, in the German state of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. The institute is run by the German Hop Research Society (''Deutsche Gesellschaft für Hopfenforschung'') and the Bavarian state.

History

The Hop Research Society was founded in 1926 in response to an endemic of

downy mildew Downy mildew refers to any of several types of oomycete microbes that are obligate parasites of plants. Downy mildews exclusively belong to the Peronosporaceae family. In commercial agriculture, they are a particular problem for growers of c ...

in Germany. It was endowed with a

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

of 71 Ha in Hüll for the conduction of hop breeding experiments to generate mildew-resistant hop cultivars. In 1962, a research institute was built on the site. Originally named the ''Hans-Pfülf-Institut'' after the then president of the German Brewers Federation, it was later renamed to the current ''Hopfenforschungszentrum Hüll''. Under its first research director, Hugo Hampp (from 1926 to 1944), the institute focussed on countering the

Peronosporaceae Peronosporaceae are a family of water moulds that contains 21 genera, comprising more than 600 species. Most of them are called downy mildews. Many species of Peronosporaceae are obligate biotrophic plant pathogens. They parasitise their host ...

infections of the hop plants, which were causing downy mildew, primarily by means of

pesticides Pesticides are substances that are used to pest control, control pest (organism), pests. They include herbicides, insecticides, nematicides, fungicides, and many others (see table). The most common of these are herbicides, which account for a ...

. Hampp's successor, Friedrich Zattler (from 1944 to 1970), shifted the focus towards breeding of mildew-resistant hop varieties. This resulted in the new varieties ''Hüller Anfang'' (1962), ''Hüller Aroma'' (1962), ''Hüller Fortschritt'' (1964), ''Hüller Bitterer'' (1970), and ''Hallertauer Gold'' (1974). The Hop Research Center's third director, Johann Maier (from 1971 to 1973), expanded the field of research to hop chemistry and hop oils. Under his presidency, the Bavarian ministry of agriculture joined the Hop Research Society, and the Hop Research Center became a subsidiary of the Bavarian state. Today, the institute is run in public–private partnership between the Hop Research Society and the Bavarian state.

Hop varieties

In addition to the above-mentioned mildew-resistant

hop varieties This is a list of Plant variety (law), varieties of Hops, hop (''Humulus lupulus''). As there are male and female plants, the flowers (cones) of the female plant are fertilized by the pollen of the male flowers with the result that the female fl ...

, the institute developed a number of aroma hop varieties, including ''Hallertauer Tradition'' (1991), ''Opal'', ''Perle'' (1970s), ''Saphir'', ''Spalter Select'', and ''Smaragd'', as well as the high alpha varieties ''Hallertauer Magnum'' (1980), ''Hallertauer Merkur'', ''Hallertauer Taurus'', and ''Herkules'' (2005). Two new aroma hops were released in 2019 and 2020, respectively: ''Diamant'' (2019), which is a direct descendant of the old land hop variety ''Spalter'', and ''Aurum'' (2020), a direct descendant of another old land hop variety, ''Tettnanger''. Both feature higher yields and better resistance against '' ''Verticillium'' wilt'' and ''

Peronospora ''Peronospora'' is a genus of downy mildews that are obligate plant pathogens. They can cause severe damage to many different cultivated crops, as well as wild and ornamental plants. ''Peronospora'' is most closely related to ''Pseudoperonospora' ...

'' fungi infections than their respective ancestors while retaining their aroma. In response to the global

craft beer Craft beer is beer manufactured by craft breweries, which typically produce smaller amounts of beer than larger "macro" breweries and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as emphasising enthusiasm, ne ...

movement, the institute developed several "special flavor hops": ''Hallertau Blanc'', ''Huell Melon'', ''Mandarina Bavaria'', and ''Polaris'' were released in 2012, and ''Ariana'' and ''Callista'' were released in 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hop Research Center Hull Agricultural research institutes in Germany Beer in Germany Botanical research institutes Organisations based in Bavaria Organizations established in 1926 1926 establishments in Germany Humulus