Around the time that Fidelis von Lentz recommended hop farming, over 300 hectares of grapevines and only three hectares of hops were being grown in the region around the then small town of Tettnang. However, within a decade the area dedicated to hops had raced ahead to 91 hectares and another ten years later (1874) hops had far overtaken viniculture at 400 hectares. As viniculture continued to decline, hop growing expanded further, reaching around 650 acres in 1884 and varying between 550 and 700 hectares at the turn of the century and during the first and second world wars. Israel Friedrich Wirth at the Kaltenberg estate (known as “Hopfenburg“ or “Hop Castle”) was another pioneer and supporter of the farming of Tettnang hops in this period. A number of inventions, such as hop drying, trellis construction, cultivation equipment, etc. are credited to his pioneering spirit, which he collected together in his “Wirths Hopfenbuch” published in 1875. Also in 1875 he brought the first German hop exhibition to Tettnang, initiated quality competitions and regularly won gold medals for the finest aroma hops from Tettnang in international competitions. 

In all its diversity, Tettnang continues to define itself into the future as an aromatic hop-producing region. In the nineties there was another major change when the growing region decided to cultivate other varieties in addition to the noble local Tettnang and Hallertauer Mfr. varieties. This decision helped to spread the economic risk, flattened out peaks in busy times and made it possible to offer customers the whole range of varieties in the “Tettnang Hop Shop”. 

Nevertheless, the noble Tettnang aroma variety remains the core competence of Tettnang hop farmers with around 60% of the cultivated area, supplemented by the Hüll varieties and even the new “flavor hops”, which they have been growing since 2012. Tettnang hop growers will remain in close contact with their loyal customers of many years, and will also seek out new contacts with interested creative brewers at brewing fairs and breweries in the local area and beyond. In line with the trend towards concentration in both the brewing industry and the hops trade, the number of growers in Tettnang is also shrinking (the owners are drawing ever closer together as the number of farms decreases and the business environment undergoes change), while at the same time each grower is becoming bigger and more productive. 132 farms are currently achieving an annual production of between 2,250 and 2,750 tonnes on around 1,400 hectares (approx. 2.5% of the total area under hop cultivation around the world), which is generally combined with the full gamut of fruit farming in the area around Lake Constance with its favourable climate. And if the expression “no beer without hops and no hops without beer” should continue to hold true over the next 175 years, which is quite likely, then the finest aroma from Tettnang will continue to find its way into brewing kettles all over the world to finish and refine speciality beers in the premium segment.