A film by Christian Wagner

A filmpool production for ARD

Germany 2010/11
Filmed on Super 16 in color, HD Dolby Digital
Lenght: 88 Min

Background:

The Hallertau
Hop Growing Area

With an area of more than 15,000 ha (37,066 ac) and more than 1,100 hop farms, the Hallertau region in Bavaria is the world's largest contiguous hop growing area.

The conditions are ideal: deep, loose soil, the absence of frost from late April onwards, average temperatures of 7.7°C (45.9°F), moderate sunshine (1,673 hours/year), and plenty of precipitation (816 mm/year). Hallertau hops first appeared in the records as early as 860 AD. Isolated hop growing gradually developed into larger contiguous growing areas that facilitated the required mechanization and automation.

Hallertau owes its leading role in hop growing to the expertise of the growers, modern growing procedures, innovative research institutions, efficient marketing structures, and advanced adaptability to the needs of the global hop market. In terms of technology and capacity, the hop processing facilities in Hallertau are among the most efficient worldwide.