Publication of an application pursuant to Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs

2009/C 222/06

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006. Statements of objection must reach the Commission within six months from the date of this publication.

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘TETTNANGER HOPFEN’

EC No: DE-PGI-0005-0528-14.03.2006

PDO ( ) PGI ( X )

This summary sets out the main elements of the product specification for information purposes.

1.   Responsible department in the Member State:

2.   Group:

3.   Type of product:

4.   Specification:

(summary of requirements under Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)

4.1.   Name:

‘Tettnanger Hopfen’

4.2.   Description:

Botany: botanically the hop (Humulus lupulus) belongs to the same family as hemp (Cannabaceae) and to the order Urticales (nettles). It is a dioecious plant, i.e. each plant carries only female or only male flowers. Only ‘female’ plants are cultivated, forming flowers called burrs from which the cones later develop. The protection afforded by Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 is to apply only to female hop cones (fresh hops) and the products obtained by processing them (in this case, hop pellets and hop extract in particular). A hop cone consists of bracts, bracteoles and a strig providing the valuable brewing constituents of Tettnang hops. The hop is a short-day plant, i.e. it grows in the spring as the days get longer, and flowers from around 21 June when the days get shorter. Thanks to the favourable conditions in which they grow (soil, precipitation levels and average temperatures), Tettnang hops can reach heights of 8,3 m, unlike hops in other areas (support systems in other growing areas are normally 7-7,5 m in height). Tettnang hops are fast-growing (up to 30 cm a day) and climb in a clockwise direction. All aromatic varieties from the Tettnang region are defined as ‘Tettnanger Hopfen’. The varieties ‘Hallertauer Tradition’ and ‘Perle’ are grown in addition to the main varieties of ‘Tettnanger’ and ‘Hallertauer Mittelfrüher’ (since 1973 the uniform ‘Tettnanger Frühhopfen’; P. Heidtmann ‘Grünes Gold’, 1994, p. 342). The ‘Tettnanger’ variety is grown only in the Tettnang region.

Use: ‘Tettnanger’ hops are used almost exclusively (around 99 %) for producing beer, with a small portion going into pharmaceutical products. Customers receive ‘Tettnanger’ hops in processed form as hop pellets and, to a lesser extent as hop extract (since valuable aromas can be lost during the extraction process).

Ingredients: the important substances in hops are bitter substances (hop resins), aromas (essential oils) and tannins (polyphenols). Tettnang is defined as an area for the growing of aromatic varieties of hops. ‘Tettnanger’ hops owe their worldwide reputation in particular to exceptionally delicate aromas, which are made up of over 300 essential oil constituents (the hop’s ‘bouquet’). Descriptions of the aroma of Tettnang hops include flowery, citrusy, fruity, redcurrant-like, sweet and spicy. Hops grown in the Tettnang area are described as generally having a harmonious but lingering full and mild aroma.

In addition to this classification, the varieties are officially classified by the hop trade as ‘finest aroma, aroma, bitter hops, high alpha hops’. 96 % of Tettnang hops (the varieties Tettnanger and Hallertauer) are in the category ‘finest aroma’; the remaining 4 % (Perle and Hallertauer Tradition) are in the category ‘aroma’.

Since many of the 300 aromatic components are not yet sensorily detectable, it is still the subjective impression of the aroma that counts for the breweries’ decision-makers and buyers (when making his selection the buyer puts his nose in among the hops). Those knowledgeable in this field say that the Tettnang hop is the finest of all hops.

4.3.   Geographical area:

The geographical area is the Tettnang region. This includes: 1. the municipalities of Eriskirch, Friedrichshafen, Hagnau am Bodensee, Immenstaad am Bodensee, Kressbronn am Bodensee, Langenargen, Markdorf, Meckenbeuren, Neukirch, Oberteuringen and Tettnang in the Lake Constance district (Bodenseekreis); 2. the municipalities of Achberg, Amtzell, Berg, Bodnegg, Grünkraut, Ravensburg, Wangen im Allgäu (area of the former municipalities of Neuravensburg and Schomburg) in the rural district of Ravensburg; and 3. the municipalities of Bodolz, Lindau (Bodensee), Nonnenhorn and Wasserburg (Bodensee) in the rural district of Lindau (Bodensee).

4.4.   Proof of origin:

In Germany, the origin of hops was regulated for the first time in the 1929 Origin of Hops Act, and once again in the 1996 Hops Act. The geographical designation ‘Tettnang’ has more or less been protected since the 1929 Origin of Hops Act which states that the region of origin, year and variety must be specified on the packaging for hops. For decades now, it has been possible to track and guarantee the origin of ‘Tettnanger’ hops from the Tettnang hop-growing region like that of no other agricultural product. Sworn public employees attach a seal and a special certificate to every package of hops. This is similar to a birth certificate and contains the following information: the origin, the German federal state, the growing region, the degree of processing, the certification centre number, the weight of each individual package, the total number of packages, the variety and the crop year. The hop-grower also issues a document called a Hopfenherkunftsbestätigung confirming the origin of the hops.

4.5.   Method of production:

In Tettnang, the hop-growing cycle lasts from March through to September. ‘Tettnanger’ hops are propagated by means of rhizome cuttings taken from a hop-grower’s own plants or from neighbouring fields, and always from the Tettnang region. In April, the hop-grower begins to prepare the ground (tillage using rotary tillers, harrows, disc ploughs). In Tettnang growers cannot start their work until the spring, unlike in other hop-growing regions where the wire support systems are put in place during the winter. This is due to the trellis systems specific to the region: whereas a single-row system predominates in other regions, in Tettnang there are six rows of hops between each row for machinery. In early to mid-April, the plants are pruned back under the surface of the soil to promote new growth. Compared to other regions, this process takes place around 2-3 weeks later in Tettnang, because the hop plants grow and mature faster in the favourable climatic conditions of the Tettnang region. Tettnang also has the highest wirework trellises (up to 8,30 m). Due to the better soil quality and climate (amounts of precipitation and sunshine), the hops need more room to develop.

Wires of around 8,50 m in length are then fastened to the trellis and to anchors in the ground. Out of around 50 shoots (bines), four are selected and trained to climb up a wire. The plants are then given 2-3 doses of fertiliser, and measures are taken to protect the plants. At the end of June, the hop plants have reached the height of the trellis and they begin to produce flowers (generative growth). One peculiarity is that a green cover crop is sown during the flowering phase (unlike in other regions, the hop-growers in the Tettnang region have voluntarily forbidden the use of herbicides), which means that no further tillage is required. This prevents the soil becoming too compact and washed out, and promotes the formation of humus.

Harvesting begins around 20 August. Leaves, shoots and cones are separated from the hop vines and cleaned. After they have been dried (at a maximum of 62 °C to retain the aroma) and moistened until they have a moisture content of approximately 11 %, the hops are packaged. They are then sent to the local certification centre, where they are weighed, sampled (for the independent laboratory which analyses quality), sealed and certified. This step precedes the processing of the hops to produce pellets and extract, which does not take place in the geographical area.

4.6.   Link with the geographical area:

The first official record of hop-growing in the Tettnang region dates back to 1150 (P. Heidtmann, ‘Grünes Gold’, 1994, p. 12). The records for 1838 of the then Oberamt Tettnang give the names of 14 breweries (see Memminger’s ‘Beschreibung des Oberamts Tettnang’, 1838, p. 62), three of which were for the town. Three years later, in 1841, this number had risen to six (P. Heidtmann, ‘Grünes Gold’, 1994, p. 13). Their owners grew their hops themselves. The methodical cultivation of hops was introduced in 1844 by district physician Johann Nepomuk von Lentz and eight citizens of the town in an area where climatic conditions made wine-growing less feasible (P. Heidtmann, ‘Grünes Gold’, 1994, p. 15). From 1860 on, the hop-growing area expanded, meeting with the older growing region of Altshausen to the north (where hops had been cultivated from around 1821; P. Heidtmann, ‘Grünes Gold’, 1994, p. 14). In 1864, 91 ha were cultivated; this figure rose to 160 ha in 1866, 400 ha in 1875, and 630 ha in 1914 (P. Heidtmann, ‘Grünes Gold’, 1994, p. 22 et seq.). The hop-growing region around Tettnang saw its most significant expansion in the 1990s, when the area cultivated increased to 1 650 hectares (1997 EU hop market report, 1997 HGV producer group report). In the Tettnang region only aromatic hops were selected and grown.

Tettnang hops are grown only on the gravel of the lower terraces formed from the late-moraine till of the Würm glaciation in the Schussen basin, along the River Argen and its ice-age banks. This geological formation with underlying groundwater currents enables the hops to grow roots up to 2 m deep. At the same time, it provides the hops with a constant source of moisture even during periods of extreme drought. The temperate climate here between 400 and 600 m above mean sea level and influenced in part by Lake Constance is another important factor determining the aroma of Tettnang hops.

Tettnang hops are grown in climatic conditions (average annual temperatures, hours of sunshine, precipitation) which are unique. With a temperature of 9,4 °C, almost 1 800 hours of sunshine and 1 136 mm of rain, the average figures recorded during the last 30 years (2009 data) are much higher than those in other growing regions in Germany.

The combination of these geological and climatic factors provides optimum conditions for Tettnang hops to grow and produce cones, and ensures a homogeneity which is to a large extent due to geographical factors. The homogeneity of Tettnang hops has been confirmed by the University of Hohenheim in respect of the Tettnanger variety and by Anheuser/Busch brewery in respect of the Hallertauer Mittelfrüher variety. The external quality characteristics of the hops in every batch supplied is also examined by Tettnang's hop laboratory (e.g. disease, moisture, cone leaves, purity of variety and homogeneity). Tettnang hops are confirmed every year as displaying a high level of homogeneity.

Tettnang hops have a reputation which extends well beyond regional boundaries.

The delicate aroma of the hops from Tettnang has enamoured connoisseurs in Japan and the USA alike. One example of the respect and association with quality enjoyed by Tettnang hops can be found in the USA, where it is not rare for brewers to put a label on their kegs stating that the contents have been ‘Brewed with Tettnang Hops’. The quality of Tettnang hops means that they always attract the highest selling prices (EU annual reports in the 1990s, annual reports from 1990 to 2000 of the Bayerische Landesanstalt; P. Heidtmann ‘Grünes Gold’, 1994, pp. 368 and 369). The lives of the citizens of Tettnang revolve around hops, a fact borne out by the regional structures and events which focus on Tettnang hops. The Tettnang Hop Museum, which opened its doors in 1995, bears witness to the town's fascination with hop-growing. A 4 km educational trail tells interested visitors all they need to know about Tettnang hops. A 42 km circular path takes cyclists through the Tettnang hop-growing region. Every year in August, shortly before the harvest, the citizens of Tettnang come together to celebrate the long tradition of their ‘green gold’ at the Hop Festival in Tettnang-Kau. And finally, every two years the Tettnang Hop Highnesses are elected (one Hop Queen and two Princesses) as ambassadors for Tettnang hops at home and abroad.

4.7.   Inspection body:

4.8.   Labelling:

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