/ News and events

How Does Hop Cope with Heat Waves?

At IHPS, we monitored how hop plants respond to high temperatures and intense solar radiation during hot summer conditions. Measurements showed that the plants were exposed to considerable environmental stress, with leaf temperatures exceeding 35 °C and very high levels of solar radiation.

Under these conditions, hop plants responded by partially closing their stomata, thereby reducing water loss. As a consequence, photosynthetic activity also decreased to some extent.

This indicates that, even under challenging environmental conditions, hop plants maintain their ability to use available light efficiently and can rapidly resume normal growth once conditions improve.

This research helps us better understand the impacts of climate change on hop production and supports the development of more effective irrigation strategies and cultivation practices to adapt hop production to increasingly frequent periods of heat and drought.

More information about the LI-COR equipment used for these measurements is available on the LI-COR website under LI-600 Porometer/Fluorometer for Broad Leaves.

More about the project: IRP 38: CLIMAGROW – Inštitut za hmeljarstvo in pivovarstvo Slovenije

#IRP38 #CLIMAGROW The project is supported by funding from the European Union and is implemented within the Strategic Plan of the Common Agricultural Policy 2023–2027 for Slovenia.

Content of Infographic for screen readers, generated wit AI

Voščilo 2026

The team of the Slovenian Institute of Hop Research and Brewing wishes you a Merry Christmas and a happy 2026.

Greetings 2025

EU campaign: Plant Health for Life

EFSA, the European Commission (EC) and their partners in Member States of the European Union (EU) are launching the #PlantHealth4Life campaign. The campaign promotes awareness of plant health and its link with our everyday life.

More information available on official website

International Hop Growers‘ Convention: 25-29 June 2023

As a partner of International Hop Grower’s Convention (IHGC) IHPS is organizing a Scientific Conference which will take place at the end of June 2023 in Ljubljana and in Žalec. The information about the event is available at IHPS website.

16th days of open doors in the Garden of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants at IHPS

We invite you to the 16th days of open doors in the Garden of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants at our institute, which will take place on May 5th and 6th, 2023, from 8am to 6pm. Excellent lectures will be held, and there will be a sale of organically grown herb seedlings throughout the event – both days from 8:00am to 6:00pm.

There will be also guided tours through a diverse range of organic medicinal and aromatic plants in the Garden of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants.

It is certainly a very interesting and current event, and we will be happy to have your company!

More (in Slovene): 16. dneva odprtih vrat v Vrtu zdravilnih in aromatičnih rastlin na IHPS – predavanja, prodaja sadik | Facebook

Commodity Expert Working Group (CEG) – HOPS

The #mucf Commodity Expert Group (CEG) #hops met today to discuss issues related to #minoruses. Presentations on treated LWA (leaf wall area) calculation in hops and an overview of a CBCVd monitoring carried out in Germany complimented this meeting. We would like to thank all the participants, more than 16 experts from 7 different European countries and the US, for participating in the remotely held meeting.

IHPS attended PAG30

From 13. 1. to 18. 1. San Diego (USA) was hosting an International Plant and Animal Genome Conference that was attended also by our coworkers. Associate Prof. Andreja Čerenak presented Biotechnological Approaches Used in Slovenian Hop Breeding Program at the Hop Breeding and Genomics Session. PhD students Marjeta Eržen and Lucija Luskar presented their research work with posters. More than 3500 attendees have gathered during six days of conference.

Successful Conclusion of the Two-Day 60th Jubilee Seminar on Hops in Portorož

Successful Conclusion of the Two-Day 60^th Jubilee Seminar on Hops in Portorož

On February 9^th and 10^th, 2023, the Institute held the highly anticipated 60^th anniversary seminar on hops in Portorož, Slovenia. The esteemed event was formally inaugurated by the Institute’s director, Mr. Bojan Cizej, the esteemed hop elder, Aljoša Uršič, and hop princess, Minca Marovt.

M.Sc. Marjeta Bizjak, on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Food, extended a warm welcome to the participants. During her speech, she emphasized the importance of sustainable food production and the pressing environmental challenges facing the industry. She proposed irrigation, a circular economy, and the development of new hop varieties that are resilient to climate change, diseases, and pests as potential solutions. She expressed hope that the seminar would provide solutions and conclusions that would aid the ministry in its future endeavors.

Following her opening remarks, M.Sc. Bizjak delivered a compelling presentation on the Common Agricultural Policy 2023-2027, focusing on hop cultivation. All 110 attendees listened with rapt attention.

The two-day seminar featured 22 professional lectures presented in three sections, performed by a blend of in-house and guest experts.

The director of IHPS, Mr. Bojan Cizej, concluded the seminar by sharing 15 key takeaways that were derived from the lectures and discussions held during the event.

We extend our heartfelt appreciation to all the participants, especially the hop growers and experts in the field of hops, for their active engagement.

We also wish to express our sincere gratitude to all the sponsors who provided financial support to make this momentous 60^th anniversary seminar on hops a resounding success.

Autumn meeting of the Commodity Expert Group (CEG) Minor Uses in Hops

The Autumn meeting of the Commodity Expert Group (CEG) Minor Uses in Hops took place face-to-face in the hop region in Poperinge, Belgium from 8 to 9 November, 2022. The meeting was attended by 20 experts from 5 EU countries and also from the USA. On the meeting exchanged experiences from the last hop growing season, plant protection issues in each MS, reports on noteworthy 2022 trials and projects in EUMUDA, and an outlook on planned 2023 activities. General issues on the agenda were the concept of LWA in a hop production, the EU review situation for hops and EU MRL situation, regulatory affairs, and MRL status for different hop markets over the world (India, Korea, Vietnam, etc.). On the meeting CEG members informed about a Proposal for Sustainable use of PPPs and amending Regulation (EU) 2021/2115. The most important issue at the meeting was an organic hop production – and its expected development in the near future.

After the formal meeting, we visited a hop farm that grows hops according to the principles of organic production. After the tour, we had the opportunity to test their beers, brewed from organic hops.

Several CEG Hops participants in front of Poperinge town hall.