Common Styles: Traditional Pilsners, Wheat beers, Belgian-style Ales From the German name for the Czech town of Žatec, ‘Saaz’ is the major landrace variety of the hopyards of the Czech Republic and the quintessential noble hop. It accounts for over 80% of the total acreage in its home country.
Indispensable for authentic Bohemian-style Pilsner, Saaz possesses a mild but distinctively Czech spiciness that is equally at home in other pale lager styles as well as Belgian and farmhouse ales. The aroma is soft, pleasantly spicy and herbal with vivid woodsy, earthy, and dark floral character. Rootstock grown elsewhere doesn’t have the same range or balance as Czech flowers.