Association

200+ members

The Slovenian Hop Growers Association is organized as a professional and non-political association. It connects hop growers in Slovenia, and membership also includes business and professionally interested individuals. It takes care of the reputation and public image of hop growing, promotes Slovenian hop varieties within the quality scheme Štajerski hmelj (PGI) and co-creates research policy at the Institute for Hop Research and Brewing of Slovenia (
IHPS
). Hop growers in Slovenia have been actively involved in the International Hop Growers Convention (
IHGC
) in various organizational forms since 1951.

We, the hop growers of Slovenia, hop elders and hop princesses of Slovenia, established the Association of Hop Elders and Princesses of Slovenia on 18. 6. 2004 and thus took another step forward in preserving the tradition of Slovenian hop growing. The desire for association organization had been smoldering in us for some time, as conditions in hop growing had changed significantly. The association operates successfully and continues to develop. Due to the scope of its activities, the highest body at the members’ assembly in January 2018 decided to rename it to the Slovenian Hop Growers Association.

The association, which has 183 members, is led by a president (hop elder), who is assisted in his work by a management board consisting of: president, vice-president (current hop elder) and five other active members of the association from the field of hop growing.

Become a Member

The first president was hop elder and hop knight Milan Lesjak Sr. from Ojstriška vas, who led the association for two terms, then hop elder Anton Rožič from Zakl took over the leadership, and since 2016 hop elder and hop knight Ivan Oset from Drešinja vas has been performing this function.

Within the Association operate:

  • Management board, which decides on all important matters of the association
  • Supervisory board, which supervises the correctness and transparency of operations and financial statements
  • Committee for hop growing
  • Commission for awards and decorations
  • Committee for promotion
  • Disciplinary commission, which deals with possible violations by members.

Association and operations

The association is financed by membership fees, funds from public tenders and donor funds. Members of the Association perform their work voluntarily and free of charge.

We represent the interests of all Slovenian hop growers, hop elders and princesses and our supporters, organize professional consultations and member meetings, participate and represent hop growing at world fairs (Munich, Nuremberg, Milan), organize and participate in various events that are important for the promotion of Slovenian hop growing and within these we showcase old customs and thus preserve our cultural heritage. We are also members of the international hop growers association, i.e. International Hop Growers’ Convention IHGC – IHB – CICH.

Hop Growers Day

Every year on the second Sunday in August, Slovenian hop growers together with the Municipality of Braslovče and TD Braslovče carry out their most important event, at which we enthrone the annual hop pair. The event begins with a ceremonial session, at which the candidates for hop elder and hop princess are presented. The event continues with a magnificent procession of the still current pair with the hop flag, followed by the new candidates for the hop pair, followed by hop elders and hop princesses from previous years and guests.

Hop Growers' Likof

The Hop Growers’ Likof is an event through which we aim to preserve the importance of hop growing in the Savinja Valley, connect hop growers, and strengthen the awareness and pride of hop growers that they are part of one of the most important agricultural sectors in Slovenia. Slovenian hop growing is the fifth largest in the world by the quantity of hops produced. After the season ends and after the demanding month of hop picking, hop growers take time to gather at the likof, talk, evaluate the harvest, exchange experiences, and celebrate with music and refreshments.

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We are aware that only those who know their history and tradition, nurture and respect them while enriching them with new knowledge can be successful. This certainly applies to us hop growers, who have more than a century of history of hop cultivation in our regions. Preserving tradition and hop growing is our basic task, which has been rooted in us for more than 100 years.

The Association has strived with all the energy of its members to encourage production standards, improve product quality and develop the quality of products with the protected geographical indication ŠTAJERSKI HMELJ. Which we also succeeded in achieving last year.

The certification body Bureau Veritas d.o.o. Ljubljana issued a Certificate on 23. 6. 2014, confirming that the Association meets the requirements of the specification for ŠTAJERSKI HMELJ with protected geographical indication (PGI), registered with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment of the Republic of Slovenia under No. 33203-31/2012/26. The certificate is issued in accordance with the SIST EN 45011 standard and in accordance with the SPA07 procedure – certification of agricultural products and food. The certificate is accompanied by a list of all hop growers in Slovenia who have joined the PGI Štajerski hmelj. The Association ensures the implementation of internal and external control of the PGI. On this basis, all hop growers received a hop quality certificate in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

In 2017, the European Commission entered Štajerski hmelj in the European PGI register for crops of Slovenian hop varieties grown in the protected area. With this, Štajerski hmelj gained recognition of higher quality.

In addition to the basic task of representing the interests of all Slovenian hop growers, hop elders and princesses and our sympathizers, we organize professional consultations. Every year we participate in the hop growing seminar organized by the Institute for Hop Research and Brewing of Slovenia in February, where we actively participate in discussions, and the current hop elder and hop princess are present in ceremonial attire.

We organize and participate in various events that are important for the promotion of Slovenian hop growing. Thus, every year on the second Sunday in August we have the Hop Growers Day event, which is organized in cooperation with the Tourist Association Braslovče, where at a ceremonial session a new hop pair – hop elder and hop princess – is presented, then by showcasing old hop growing customs in a procession at the event venue we also proclaim the new hop pair, which has the task of promoting hop growing in our area and beyond. With this event we preserve cultural heritage, as in the procession we show how hop growers managed and worked even at a time when there was no modern mechanization.

PRESENTATION OF SLOVENIAN HOP GROWING AT FAIRS ABROAD

An important task of the association is the promotion of Slovenian hop growing at home and abroad. Slovenia is among the largest hop producers in the world, so hop growers must sell most of their produce on foreign markets, where there is fierce competition. Presentations at hop brewing fairs abroad are therefore very important and contribute to the recognition of Slovenian hop varieties. The association therefore started early with promotional appearances at foreign fairs, we have presented ourselves eleven times in total. We were absent only in years when there were no fairs due to COVID measures:

2013 – Drinktec, Munich, Germany.
2014 – BrauBeviale, Nuremberg, Germany.
2015 – BrauBeviale, Nuremberg, Germany.
2016 – BrauBeviale, Nuremberg, Germany.
2017 – CraftBeer, Milan, Italy.
2017 – Drinktec, Munich, Germany.
2018 – BrauBeviale, Nuremberg, Germany.
2019 – CraftBeer, Milan, Italy and BrauBeviale, Nuremberg, Germany.
2022 – Drinktec, Munich, Germany.
2023 – BrauBeviale, Nuremberg, Germany.
2024 – BrauBeviale, Nuremberg, Germany.