The Slovenian Institute of Hop Research and Brewing (IHPS), situated in Žalec, Slovenia, is a public research, developmental, advisory and educational organization. It acts for the needs of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, the Ministry 
of Education, Science and Sport, the Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry, as well as for the needs of domestic and foreign industry. The institute also has project partnerships with local and foreign scientific research and technical institutions. Its role in the food processing sector and in rural development is also crucial.
Its principal functions are research and advisory services in growing industrial plants (hops, hemp, biofuel plants), brewing and the production of medicinal and aromatic plants. The research fields are complemented by applied projects relating to agriculture, environmental impact, as well as the development and preservation of the countryside.
The principal research in hop growing is centered on hop breeding, agricultural technology, physiology, nutrition, hop marketing, protection of hops against diseases and pests and the related prognosis and signs of diseases and pests, as well as the application of chemical solutions used for the protection of plants and economics in agribusiness. The Institute consists of various organizational units – departments.
The main research staff (8 PhD, 4 MSc, 10 BSc) in Agronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Food Technology and Agricultural Economics is formally contained within the research group for soil, plants and the environment.
