Hops

Are hops grown in Moravia? Yes, around Tršice (Tirschitz) northeast of Olomouc. It's one of Czechia's four hop-growing regions, alongside Žatec (Saaz), Úštěk (Auscha), and Dubá (Dauba).

About 65 municipalities across the Olomouc, Přerov, and Prostějov districts grow hops here. Acreage fluctuates, and farmers have reduced it at times, so no reliable hectare figure can be given. Tršice is also home to a research station run by the Hop Research Institute in Žatec, which tests varieties and raises healthy plants for the area's hop gardens.

Hops grow on trellis systems, with the vines climbing several meters high by spring. Harvest comes in late summer, when the cones are plump and sticky with yellow resin dust. The cones are dried before heading to the brewery.

Czech lagers live and breathe aroma hops. The classic Saaz variety carries relatively little bitterness but offers fine herbal and floral notes. Since 2007, it has held EU protection in Czechia as a Protected Designation of Origin under the name "Žatecký chmel." Moravia has no hop protection of its own.

Bitterness and aroma come from different parts of the hop. Bitterness comes from resins that only dissolve during the wort's long boil. Aroma lives in volatile oils that evaporate quickly, even during a short boil. That's why aroma hops go in late, bitter hops early. This is how the balance that defines a Moravian lager comes together: noticeably bitter, but never sharp, with just a whisper of herbs in the nose.