301: Zdeněk Rosa of Bohemia Hop Is Bullish on the Future of Czech Hops
Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast
The Importance of Irrigation in Hop Fields
Only about one quarter of hop fields in the Czech Republic are irrigated. Even in a tropical year, like last year, irrigation just didn't overcome the temperatures. You're also looking at growing and breeding varieties that will yield better for growers. This keeps prices where they need to be for brewers and helps the entire world of brewing.
When brewers think of Czech hops, they naturally think of Saaz, whose delicate and ethereal character is nearly synonmyous with lager itself. Yet while craft brewers around the world have developed an obsession with punchy New World hops and the character of specific varieties, they often know relatively litle about the hops from this region that’s been growing them for more than a millennium.
In this episode, we sit down in Žatec—the home of Saaz—with Zdeněk Rosa, chairman of Bohemia Hop, the collective of all Bohemian hop growers. Here, Rosa digs into:
- the promising overall trajectory of Saaz growth in recent years, despite the disastrous harvest of 2022
- how agronomy and growing operations differ in Bohemia compared to the Pacific Northwest
- the unlikely specifics of how weather impacted the 2022 harvest
- the development of other varieties that offer similar character to Saaz but with better yield and sustainability
- newer, more expressive Czech aroma varieties such as Saaz Shine and Saaz Comfort, which offer enticing possibilities for lager and other kinds of beer
- leaning into a Czech take on cold IPA using more characterful Czech aroma hops
And more.
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