Division 3.2 Description of product to which the name in (1) applies

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’ (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).

Components: 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.

Tettnang 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.