Hops have grown around the town of Žatec for a thousand years. After the US and Germany, no country grows more hops than the Czech Republic, and 80% of Czech hops grow near Žatec in northwest Bohemia. “It’s the best place for producing these hops,” says Josef Patzak, Executive Director of Chmelařský Institut, the hop institute in Žatec. “There are mountains 50km to the west. Clouds go above and it makes a rain shadow,” he says, meaning low rainfall and higher-than-average tempe...
