Hops

Hardly any hops grow in the Beskids; Poland's hop fields lie further north and east. Poland cultivates hops on just under 1,800 hectares in total, according to recent statistics. The growing regions are Lublin, Greater Poland around Poznań, and Opole. Lesser Poland contributes mainly breweries, scarcely any hops.

Poland's best-known hop variety is Lublin. It's a Polish breed derived from Saaz hops and is considered fine-aromatic, with a mild, spicy scent. Saaz hops come from Žatec in the Czech Republic and define Bohemian Pilsner. That Poland has its own offshoot of it fits with the close neighborliness of the two countries.

Hops make a beer keep and give it bitterness and aroma. When the wort — the sugar solution from the malt — is boiled, the heat draws the bitter compounds out of the cones. Hops added late tend to give aroma rather than bitterness. Bitterness is measured in IBU, a scale for bitterness units.

According to the style guidelines, a Baltic Porter falls between 20 and 40 IBU. That's roughly the range of a German Pils, but it feels milder in the glass because the malt's sweetness and residual sugar counterbalance it. The hops are meant to support the roasted character, not overpower it.

Descriptions of the Żywiec Porter recipe mention hop extract alongside hops. This is a concentrated extract of the bitter compounds that breweries like to use because it can be dosed precisely and acts evenly. Whole cones from the field and extract from a can are not mutually exclusive — both appear side by side in large breweries.