Growing Hops in Austria

For many, Austria is ski and wine country. Vineyards and winemaking clearly dominate the eastern part of Austria, where the climate is particularly suitable for the cultivation of grapes. When climate and soil conditions are right for vines, it’s usually also a great place to grow hops.

Austrian Flag painted on a Stone - Photo: T. Q. (Unsplash)

Hop Cultivation in Austria

Austria has three main hop growing regions. Depending on the region, you can find a mix of varieties you’d typically cultivate in the south of Germany and Slovenia / Bohemia.

Mühlviertel (Upper Austria)

Mühlviertel in Upper Austria, where 141 ha are dedicated to hops, is the biggest Austrian hop-producing region. In 2018, the total hop harvest was 236,900 kg, which equals around 1,700 kg/ha. Farmers predominantly cultivate Magnum, Perle, Malling and Spalter Select. Additional varieties are Aurora, Hallertau Tradition, Hersbrucker Spät, Golding, Saphir, Cascade, Tettnanger and Taurus. Overall the selection of hops grown in Upper Austria appears very similar to the varieties you’d find across southern Germany. Taking the most popular varieties of the Hallertau region in Bavaria, Franconia and Tettnang and transplanting them to Austrian terroir.

Styria (Steiermark)

Styria (Steiermark) is famous for its alpine mountains, skiing. But Styria is also one of Austria’s major wine regions, producing high-quality grapes on around 4,633 ha of land. Styria’s centre of hop cultivation is Leutschach, where hops are growing on 98 ha. In 2018, the annual output of Leutschach was around 184,200 kg, or 1,900 kg/ha. Their main hop variety is Styrian Celeia, while Aurora, Magnum, Cicero, Opal, Später Select and Taurus are also grown in Leutschach. In Styria, maybe because of its geographic location, you can observe that hops with Slovenian origin, like Celeia and Aurora, play a more important role than the German varieties you can find in Upper Austria.

Waldviertel

Located in the northeast of Lower Austria and with 17 ha of hops, Waldviertel is the smallest hop growing region of Austria. To the south, the Danube river defines the border of Waldviertel, and to the northeast it shares a border with the Czech Republic. The total output was 25,800 kg in 2018. This results in an average yield of about 1,500 kg per ha.

Source: https://bierland-oesterreich.at/unser-bier/rohstoffe/465-hopfen.html