1156 – Slovenian hop growing is mentioned in the Notitia honorum de Lorca urbarium.
1839 – Dr. Hlubek states that Styria had “56 acres of hop fields with 128,000 seedlings”.
1842 – Franc Žuža, owner of the Zabukovica mine, establishes the first brewery and lays the foundations for Žalec brewing.
1854 – Franc Žuža plants the first seedlings of Žatec hops in the vicinity of Žalec.
1867 – Dr. Adalbert Cypl and Johan Hastonsky establish the first experimental hop garden near Celje.
1870 – Josip Bilger, administrator of the Novo Celje manor, establishes an experimental hop garden of Württemberg hops.
1876 – Janez Hausenbichler establishes a permanent hop garden of Württemberg hops.
1878 – Simon Kukec purchases the Žalec brewery from Franc Žuža’s widow.
1880 – Progressive hop growers from the Savinja Valley establish the South Styrian Hop Growers’ Association in Žalec.
1881 – Janez Hausenbichler publishes the booklet ‘Instructions on Hop Growing’, teaching farmers how to cultivate hops.
1881 – The Savinja Loan Bank is established in Žalec, playing a significant role in the expansion of hop cultivation in the valley.
1886 – Janez Hausenbichler and Karl pl. Haupt conduct the first experiments with the Golding hop variety.
1902 – A hop processing plant is established in Žalec at the initiative of the association.
1908 – A hop marking facility is established.
1909 – At the request of the Hop Growers’ Association in Žalec, the Ministry of Agriculture in Vienna appoints university professor of botany Julij Olsehowy as an advisor for hop cultivation in the Savinja Valley.
1914 – Beginning of World War I, 1,800 ha of hop gardens.
1918 – End of World War I and only 600 ha of hop gardens.
1918 – The South Styrian Hop Growers’ Association expands its operations to the entire Drava Banovina and renames itself the Hop Growers’ Association for Slovenia.
1926 – 1,800 ha of hop gardens.
1926 – 620 bales of hops signed.
1927 – Fran Roblek, on behalf of the Hop Growers’ Association for Slovenia, writes to the ministry in Belgrade, requesting a suitable regulation to prohibit the export of “Golding” hop seedlings across Slovenia’s borders. He also addresses a request to Minister Dr. Franc Kulovec, asking him to support Savinja hop growers in their fight against the excessive expansion of hop gardens in Croatia, Srem, and Bačka.
1929 – Crisis in hop growing, low prices, cultivated areas decreased.
1930 – The association begins publishing the newspaper “Slovenski hmeljar” (Slovenian Hop Grower), later renamed “Hmeljarski vestnik” (Hop Growers’ Gazette).
1941 – Beginning of World War II, 2,450 ha of hop gardens.
1945 – End of World War II, 637 ha of hop gardens.
1945 – Establishment of the Hop Growers’ Cooperative in Žalec.
1952 – Establishment of the Institute for Hop Research and Brewing in Žalec.
1952 – Establishment of the hop growers’ committee as the operational body for hop growers in the Celje cooperative association area.
1952 – Establishment of the export-import company Hmezad.
1954 – The first hop growing school is organized.
1955 – 1959 – The first 1,000 ha of wire trellises are erected.
1956 – Spraying deadlines against downy mildew and warnings about the appearance of other pests are announced on the radio for the first time.
1956 – Establishment of the Agricultural Production Business Association in Žalec, which took over organizational and promotional tasks for all Slovenian hop growers in the field of hop cultivation.
1958 – The first experiments with irrigating hop fields by spraying water over the wire structure begin.
1959 – The first Allays 4 hop harvesting machine in Slovenia at the Lava estate.
1959 – A network of observers is organized for the needs of the forecasting service.
1959-1960 – TPS sprayers.
1961-1963 – TF 300M sprayers.
1960-1961 – The first wooden trellises with stronger wire, a product of local expertise.
1961 – Establishment of the Hop Growers’ Business Association.
1962 – The first Bruff harvesting machines in Vrbje and at IHPS.
1963 – Beginning of the Hop Growers’ Day event, held for the first three years in Prebold, then in Braslovče.
1964 – Beginning of the construction of concrete trellises.
1965 – Establishment of the Business Association for the Production of Hops, Fruit, Wine, and Livestock.
1965 – Beginning of mechanical pruning.
1965 – Testing of a semi-permanent irrigation system in hop gardens and simultaneous spraying with plant protection products through the irrigation system.
1965-1966 – The first Master sprayer from England.
1967 – The first Myers Typhoon sprayer.
1967 – The first use of string instead of wire for support.
1971 – The first domestic varieties (Aurora, Atlas, Apolon, Ahil) bred at IHPS are recognized.
1971 – Beginning of operations for the two largest mechanical hop harvesting communities in the valley (Gotovlje, Gomilsko).
1972 – Beginnings of irrigation forecasting for hop gardens.
1974 – Beginning of integrated pest management for hop gardens.
1975 – Establishment of the Business Community for Hop Cultivation.
1979 – The varieties Bobek, Blisk, Buket are recognized.
1985 – The first virus-free hop gardens.
1987 – The first organized hop irrigation.
1990 – The varieties Celeia, Cerera, Cicero, Cekin are recognized.
1991 – Transformation of the Business Community into Hop Company of Slovenia Ltd.
1992 – 40th International Hop Congress in Žalec.
1995 – Transformation of Hop Company of Slovenia Ltd. into GIZ Hop Growers’ Association of Slovenia.
1997 – 2,504 ha of hop gardens.
2000 – Acquisition of Hmezad’s facilities and machinery through purchase – by Slovenian hop growers.
2003 – Symposium of the IHGC Scientific Commission (International Hop Growers’ Convention) in Dobrna.
2004 – Establishment of the Association of Slovenian Hop Elders and Princesses.
2007 – 1,875 ha of hop gardens.
2009 – The Dana variety is recognized.
2010 – Renaming of the association to the Association of Hop Growers, Hop Elders, and Princesses of Slovenia.
2012 – The Styrian Gold variety is recognized.
2013 – The Styrian Eureka variety is recognized.
2014 – First acquisition of the PGI Styrian Hops certificate for all Slovenian hop varieties grown in Slovenia (all Slovenian hop growers included in the control).
2015 – The Styrian Eagle variety is recognized.
2016 – The Styrian Cardinal and Styrian Wolf varieties are recognized.
2017 – The Styrian Kolibri variety is recognized.
2017 – Registration of the name Štajerski hmelj (Styrian hops) in the European register of Protected Designations of Origin and Protected Geographical Indications (PGI).
2017 – 36th EBC (European Brewery Convention) in Ljubljana.
2017 – 1,590 ha of hop gardens.
2018 – The Styrian Dragon and Styrian Fox varieties are recognized.
2018 – Renaming of the association to the Association of Hop Growers of Slovenia.
2019 – 57th International Hop Congress in Slovenia from 29. 7. to 2. 8. 2019 (Žalec, Ljubljana).
2023 – IHGC Scientific Commission Conference on 25. 6. – 29. 6. 2023 in Ljubljana, participants also visit the Savinja Valley and the Institute for Hop Research and Brewing in Žalec.