French hop growers are small fish in a giant pond. With 2.2 million kilos produced in 2023, France is the Tenth-largest hop-producing nation on this planet, representing lower than 1 p.c of world rising areas. As compared, 15.4 million kilos have been produced in Czechia that very same yr, 90.9 in Germany, and 104.9 within the U.S.
The oldest documented proof linking hops with brewing comes from northern France in 822, the place hop tradition grew to become a flourishing commerce eight centuries later, earlier than Alsace, in japanese France, entered the sport within the nineteenth century. Rising hops in France is just not a brand new enterprise, nevertheless it has all the time been a difficult one.
In 1929, whereas the manufacturing quantity was reportedly sufficient to cowl the nation’s wants, hop growers have been struggling to promote their crop and brewers have been primarily shopping for from Czechia, Poland, or Yugoslavia.
A newspaper from the time said that customs charges ought to be elevated to compete with the decrease costs and cheaper workforce of these international locations (those self same taxes have been lowered within the Eighties, taking a toll on gross sales for French producers).
Growing taxes didn’t assist a lot and, in 1937, an Alsatian senator even prompt limiting the usage of international hops for the advantage of French hops, asking that two-thirds of the hops utilized by French breweries come from France and the remaining third from overseas.
The fact is that, regardless of good soil high quality, an satisfactory local weather, and ample agricultural abilities, French hop growers have been competing with way more established international locations in the case of beer, and taxes or laws have been by no means actually in a position to change that.
Philippe Martin, answerable for microbreweries at Hop France, France’s largest producer and provider, believes that French hops are nonetheless ready to be placed on the map. “Our noble varieties like Strisselspalt aren’t actually featured in conventional beer recipes together with Saaz or German hops,” he says.
Now the competitors additionally comes from throughout the Atlantic. The craze for American beer kinds within the French beer scene closely influences uncooked supplies, particularly hops. (A examine from 2018 reveals that 35 p.c of French breweries use American hops and 20 p.c use French hops.)
Historic French producers are placing forth their greatest efforts to persuade brewers to present their hops a attempt by creating varieties designed to suit the most recent tendencies, whereas new producers have emerged from across the nation with a spread of American hops to fulfill demand.
Not on the IPA Bingo Card
It’s in Alsace that 80 p.c of French hops are produced, with Strisselspalt the bestseller. Grown since at the least 1885, this conventional selection is commonly utilized in bottom-fermented beers similar to Kronenbourg 1664.
However being related to macro lager manufacturers hasn’t helped Strisselspalt thrive in a craft beer scene thirsty for hoppy recipes. Whereas Hop France sells 60 p.c of its manufacturing in France, microbreweries characterize solely 15 p.c of their French purchasers.
Martin thinks this has to do with French hops’ total profile. “French hops are right here to clean issues out and enhance drinkability. It’s more durable to promote as a result of we’re not promoting an aroma,” he says. “The craft section needs hops for IPAs—fragrant bombs.”
Since 2009, Hop France’s analysis program has developed new varieties to fulfill this demand. Elixir, launched in 2016, has particularly been designed to fill the IPA bingo card, with a citrusy taste profile. Francis Heitz, Hop France’s export supervisor, calls it essentially the most American of European hops.
Nonetheless, as French beer lovers have a tendency to connect significance to the hops utilized in NEIPAs, hazy IPAs, and different hop-focused recipes, a mix of French hops can seem much less interesting and marketable than utilizing well-known combos similar to Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe.
Alternatively, some famend American breweries have discovered an curiosity in French hops’ distinctive profiles (the U.S. represents 3.8 p.c of Hop France’s gross sales). Oskar Blues’ Mama’s Little Yella Pils and Russian River’s STS Pils each include Aramis, a spread extra bitter than Strisselspalt, launched in 2010. Created in 2018, Barbe Rouge and its ripe pink fruit aromas have made their means into New Belgium’s Fats Tire Ale recipe.
At City Chestnut Brewing Firm in St. Louis, Missouri, founder Florian Kuplent says he fell in love with French hops a very long time in the past.
“Strisselspalt is a kind of traditional hop varieties that has a really good natural, delicate, however very distinct character that actually works nicely in our Pilsner,” he says, because the hop options in Stammtisch, a German Pilsner. “It’s very low in alpha, so the bitterness stage is comparatively low, however the aroma and taste impression are fairly excessive.”
Kuplent makes use of Aramis in a number of recipes as nicely, similar to Zwickel Mild, a lightweight lager, but additionally Fantasyland, an IPA. “We don’t use it a lot for particular IPA taste or aroma, however that hop gives a pleasant, clear, very clean bitterness,” he says, echoing Martin.
An Act of Help
In France, some breweries are decided to show that French hops can discover their place in IPAs. At La Dilettante in Brittany, head brewer and affiliate Frédéric Favennec says his one situation when engaged on a double IPA recipe was utilizing French hops solely.
“It was a problem as a result of folks now count on sure issues from this fashion, one thing actually juicy and fragrant,” he says. “We used Elixir and Mistral from Alsace and Chinook grown in Brittany. For the reason that beer was launched in March, the response from our purchasers has been large.”
By way of the years, the brewery has been changing U.S. hops with French ones. Favennec says he doesn’t wish to cease utilizing American hops fully, however needs to be much less reliant on them. “We’re an natural and native brewery, so shopping for uncooked supplies that haven’t arrived right here by airplane makes extra sense.”
However the substitution isn’t all the time profitable and Favennec remains to be looking for an appropriate hop for the brewery’s bestseller, a single-hop Session White IPA. The hop in query, Citra, is just not the sort that may be changed simply.
“We tried to vary the recipe, utilizing much less Citra and including some Elixir,” Favennec recollects. “However each time we tried one thing, folks complained. They know the beer too nicely and prefer it that means. I could also be caught with utilizing Citra on this one.”
It could be a mistake to imagine that the American affect has solely been destructive for hop manufacturing in France. The rise of microbreweries within the nation (from 500 in 2013 to greater than 2,500 in 2023) echoing the U.S. beer market produced a brand new buyer base for French hop growers like Hop France, who used to export greater than it bought in France.
Different producers began rising throughout the nation, even in areas not traditionally linked to hop tradition. In Brittany, Erwan Jouan began producing natural American and British varieties 4 years in the past at his hop farm, Le Hangar à Houblon.
Whereas he struggles to promote British varieties similar to Fuggles (he says he’s at present tearing them out to get replaced with Triumph), Jouan has good suggestions on his American ones. “Cascade and Chinook are positively the hops I’m promoting essentially the most, which is nice as a result of they actually like Brittany’s local weather. They’re sturdy with good alpha acids.”
Just a few years in the past, Favennec changed U.S. Cascade with these grown on Jouan’s hop farm and says he hasn’t observed any distinction between the 2 recipes, and neither have his purchasers.
Hop France additionally grows American varieties, however doesn’t wish to depend upon them. “When there’s too many Cascade produced within the U.S., costs are low and folks gained’t purchase ours,” Martin says. “And we’re not pretending that our Cascade is healthier than the one grown within the U.S. anyway. It’s with our personal varieties that we’ve been in a position to differentiate ourselves and be much less dependent. Analysis saved us.”
Although they imagine within the high quality of their product, Jouan and Martin each suppose that for small breweries, shopping for French hops is at the start an act of assist.
“Some breweries aren’t natural however purchase our hops as a result of we’re native hop growers. They settle for to pay a bit bit greater than with standard hops to assist us,” Jouan says. “By way of aromas and value, we might be aggressive, if breweries are curious sufficient to present our hops an opportunity.”
CraftBeer.com is totally devoted to small and unbiased U.S. breweries. We’re printed by the Brewers Affiliation, the not-for-profit commerce group devoted to selling and defending America’s small and unbiased craft brewers. Tales and opinions shared on CraftBeer.com don’t suggest endorsement by or positions taken by the Brewers Affiliation or its members.
