Hops

Where do the hops for Nuremberg Rotbier grow? According to Hausbrauerei Altstadthof, the natural hops for their Rotbier come from the growing area around Hersbruck, Eckental, and Herpersdorf, east of the city, in organic quality. So the hop gardens aren't within the city itself, but they're well within reach.

The classic variety of this region is called Hersbrucker Spät. It is considered a fine aroma hop with a mild, spicy scent. Unlike the hops from the Hallertau or Spalt, which carry a protected designation of origin, Hersbrucker hops have no EU protection of their own.

What do hops do in beer? They contribute bitterness, which offsets the malt's sweetness, and they contribute aroma. Bitterness is extracted when the hops boil in the wort for a long time, while aroma comes from adding them only shortly before the end of the boil. In a malt-forward beer like Rotbier, the hops tend to stay in the background and simply round things off.

South of Nuremberg lies Spalt, a small hop-growing region of its own with a protected designation of origin. The Hallertau, the largest contiguous hop-growing area in the world, has its own stop on the beer journey. For the breweries of Nuremberg and Fürth, all of this is just a day trip away.

How many hectares of hops grow in Hersbrucker Land today can't be stated here in exact figures, since no verified number is available. What's certain is that Hausbrauerei Altstadthof specifically sources its hops from this region and uses them for the Original Nürnberger Rotbier — a beer that has defined itself through its malt for centuries.