Dating back to the late 1970’s, Blisk was bred in its native Zalec region of Slovenia, along with Bobek and Buket in an attempt to instil both high alpha content and pleasant aroma in one cultivar. It is a cross between Atlas and a male varietal from the former Yugoslavia. Despite its decent yield, Blisk is not being commercially produced. …
Blato
Blato was one of the first hops authorized in Czechia (formerly Czechoslovakia) for commercial production. It is not usually singled out, but is one of the collective known as Saaz Hops, or Bohemian Early Red. It doesn’t yield very well in the U.S., but it is suspected to be much more prolific in its native homeland. Zatec Hop Company in …
Bianca
Bianca (a.k.a. Bianco and Bianca Gold), with its lemon yellow color and red-brown to pink contrasting stem, is bred strictly as an ornamental hop. It must be grown in semi-shaded areas as its light leaves are subject to leaf burn in the sun. While not bred for commercial use, it is said that the cones can be used for flavoring …
Backa
Dating back to 1956, Backa is an old, rare variety of aroma hop with an unknown land race pedigree. It has the potential for high yield in its native Backa region of Serbia (formerly Yugoslavia) but doesn’t seem to do all that well elsewhere. It’s highly aromatic and is said to have similar qualities to many European “Noble Hops”. The …