Hops

The Mühlviertel hop is the region's strongest claim to fame: Austria's largest hop-growing area is located here. According to local hop farmers, around 170 hectares across the Mühlviertel and the neighboring Waldviertel produce about 300 tonnes of raw hops a year, grown by nearly 40 farms.

Hop cultivation has a long tradition here. Hops already appear in the 1206 land register of Wilhering Abbey, a medieval record of estates and holdings. The hop gardens sit at elevations of 350 to 650 meters, mainly in the districts of Rohrbach and Freistadt on the granite plateau.

On tall trellises, the plants climb up wires in early summer. Harvest comes in late summer, when the cones, the green, cone-shaped flowers, are machine-picked and dried. Only female plants are grown in the gardens, since only their cones contain the brewing resin.

The most important variety is Perle, grown on about 42 hectares. It's an aroma hop with a spicy, lightly floral scent that rounds out a beer without overpowering it. Next comes Malling, with around 20 hectares, an old Mühlviertel variety that, according to growers, only thrives in this particular region.

Bittering hops and aroma hops serve different purposes. Bittering hops contain high levels of alpha acids and give beer its sharpness, while aroma hops contribute scent and flavor. In the Mühlviertel, aroma varieties clearly dominate, which is why the beers tend to come across as mellow and spicy rather than sharp.

About a fifth of the area is farmed organically. The brewers of the Bierviertel are fond of using Mühlviertel hops and proudly list them on their websites.