Hopfen und Malz, Gott erhalt’s
The main producer of hops is Ethiopia, followed by the USA, Germany, Czech Republic and China. Slovenia, North Korea, Poland, Albania and New Zealand complete the top 10. It has to be noted though, that the crop harvested in Ethiopia is Rhamnus prinoides (‘shiny-leaf buckthorn’), which is used (and reported to the FAO) like hops, but belongs to a different plant family. Additionally to brewing, this is also used here in medicine.
