Meet HVG, Your German Hopportunity

Fact; 80% of German hop production gets exported all over the world. That level of coordination, quality management, and commitment requires intense dedication.

Meet HVG, founded in 1953 as the Hop Growers Cooperative of Hallertau (HVG Hallertau e.G.) in Germany. HVG was created with the purpose to market the hops produced by German hop farmers and its shareholders, and promote German hop production. Later in 2001, HVG Hallertau merged with other HVGs from Elbe-Saale, Tettnang, and Jura to create HVG Hopfenverwertungsgenossenschaft e.G., or HVG for short. While that seems like a lot to take in, it all boils down to their mission statement; “… a quality-oriented hop trading cooperative representing the hop growers of Germany.”

            HVG’s main focus is supplying the highest quality hops and hop products from Germany to brewers across the globe. They do this by striving to improve the quality of their products and services regularly.

            One way they do this is staying in close cooperation with Hop Research Institute in Hüll. From Hüll come the familiar German varieties Ariana, Callista, Tradition, Huell Melon, and Select. As they collaborate in the breeding program at Hüll for new hop varieties, they work towards developing and applying hop varieties that create advantages for growers, brewers, and the environment. In 2017, HVG created a breeding program of their own with one of their growers. The top goal of this program is breeding resource-protecting hop varieties. In this,  HVG focuses on crossbreeding resistance and tolerant hop varieties against diseases and pests, as well as increased tolerance to biotic stress factors, like stress from heat and drought. All this combined with HVG owning 30% of German hop production makes HVG a strong partner for German hop growers.

            Another way HVG brings quality and service to the German hop community is (through they extensive product range, such as; HVG Leaf Hops farmers’ bales and pressed bales, HVG Pellets Type 90 non-concentrated and Type 45 concentrated, 7HVG CO 2 Pure Resin and Standardized Extract, Cold Storage Services, and much more. Additionally, HVG is building a new hop extraction plant in St. Johann on the premises of their pellet plant. This will have the production capacity of 10,000 raw hops, and should be completed this year.

            To learn more about how HVG connects German hop farmers to breweries around the world, visit their website by clicking here or connect with them on Twitter.