Hop Farm: Slovenian Institute of Hop Research and Brewing

Founded in 1952 in the heart of the Savinja Valley in Žalec, the IHPS is a public, state-run institute dedicated to the scientific and technological evolution of Slovenian hop cultivation and brewing science.

As the country's sole centralized breeding authority, IHPS manages a comprehensive national hop gene bank consisting of native Slovenian landraces, wild European accessions, and advanced triploid hybrids. The institute is globally celebrated for stabilizing the traditional "Styrian" family of hops—historically mapping out essential noble varieties like Aurora, Bobek, and Savinjski Golding. Today, their modern breeding programs continue to push boundaries, releasing high-impact aroma and flavor hops tailored to modern craft brewing demands while engineering climate-resilient bines for the region's multigenerational hop farms.