Region & History

How long have hops been grown near Tettnang? Since 1844. That year, seven of the town's citizens, led by Dr. Fidelis von Lentz, planted a model garden covering just three hectares. For comparison, the area's vineyards at the time spanned around 300 hectares.

The experiment paid off. By 1854, 91 hectares of hops already stood in the ground, by 1874 around 400, and by 1884 about 650. What began as a garden trial grew into an agricultural industry that still shapes the hills north of the lake today.

What happened next is just as striking. In 1959, Tettnang counted 785 hectares spread across a record 1,382 farms, meaning small plots on average. Then came the mechanization of the 1950s through the 1970s: machines replaced hand-picking, many farms gave up, and the rest expanded. The region reached its largest footprint in 1997, with 1,659 hectares. Today it stands at a solid 1,300 hectares and around 130 farms.

Since 2010, Tettnang Hops has held Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status within the EU. The protection covers hops of all varieties grown in the Tettnang region, including Herkules, not just the Tettnanger variety itself. The beer brewed from these hops, however, carries no such protection: the EU register lists beers like Kölsch or Bavarian Beer, but no Tettnang Beer.

Breweries in the area have dwindled over the years. The hop-growing region once had 26 breweries; only three remain, according to Tettnanger Krone. By its own account, the brewery has been run by the Tauscher family since 1847, now in its seventh generation. The former hop museum, said by its operators to be the first of its kind in Germany, is now part of Hopfengut No20, linked to the brewery by a roughly four-kilometer Hop Trail.