EN Official Journal of the European Union C 29/19

Publication of an application pursuant to Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs

2012/C 29/12

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (1). Statements of objection must reach the Commission within six months of the date of this publication.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘SPALT SPALTER’

EC No: DE-PDO-0005-0843-10.01.2011

PGI ( ) PDO ( X )

1. Name:

‘Spalt Spalter’

2. Member State or third country:

Germany

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff:

3.1. Type of product:

Class 1.8. Other products covered by Annex I (spices etc.)

3.2. Description of product to which the name in (1) applies:

The hop belongs to the same family as hemp (Cannabinaceae) and to the order Urticaceae (nettles). It is a dioecious plant, i.e. the male and female flowers are found on separate plants. Only the female plants produce hop cones (Lupuli strobulus), otherwise known as strobiles. The hop harvest runs from late August until mid-September. After harvesting the hops (hop cones) are dried, then pressed and cooled for processing.

The protection afforded by Regulation (EC) No 510/2006, which is hereby requested for the designation ‘Spalt Spalter’, is to apply only to the dried hop cones (Lupuli strobulus) and the products obtained by processing them (hop pellets and hop extracts).

The purpose of processing the hops (into hop pellets or hop extracts) is to preserve the constituents of the raw hops during storage and to enhance the automatic hop dosing process in the brewery.

Hop pellets are produced by grinding and gently compressing the hop cones in order to retain the original quality of the natural product.

The pellets known in the trade as Type 90 derive their name from the fact that for every 100 kg of raw hops processed the approximate yield is 90 kg.

Lupulin-enriched hop pellets, also known as Type 45, are produced by mechanically enriching the lupulin glands when the hops are frozen (– 35 °C). This is the process by which part of the leaf material and the strig are removed from the powder by passing it through a sieve. No additives whatsoever are used in the production of hop pellets. Only the physical/technical qualities of the raw hop are modified.

In the production of hop extracts, great care is taken to preserve the original character of the natural product, as in the case of pellets. Hop extracts have been produced on an industrial-scale since the early 1970s. The polar resins and oils are gently extracted from the hop cone using either liquid or supercritical CO2, or ethanol.

Hop components which are important in the brewing process

Typical components such as bitter substances and essential oils determine the brewing value of the hop. Tannin content is less important. The bitter substances and essential oils are found in the lupulin glands of the hop cone. The tannins are most commonly found in the bracts, bracteoles and strig of the hop cones.

Quality

‘Spalt Spalter’ meets the minimum quality requirements for the marketing of hop cones and hop extracts in the Community as set out in Commission Regulation (EEC) No 890/78. In accordance with Regulation (EEC) No 1696/71 and amending regulations, the brewery is provided with full certification regarding the quality and origin of the hops.

Varieties and components

The name ‘Spalt Spalter’ can be explained by the fact that the name of the respective growing area is always placed before the variety denomination, and literally means ‘spalter hops from Spalt’.

If the Spalter hop variety were grown in any other region (which does not happen at present) it would be possible to make a clear distinction between hops of the variety specified in the designation grown outside the Spalt region and hops of the same variety grown in the Spalt region. It would therefore be necessary to refer to a Spalter hop grown in Hallertau, for example, as a ‘Hallertau Spalter’. There is therefore no risk of confusion between the designation ‘Spalt Spalter’ for which protection is being applied and a variety. The components are described in more detail in section 5.

3.3. Raw materials (for processed products only):

—

3.4. Feed (for products of animal origin only):

—

3.5. Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area:

The entire hop production process until the moment the hop cones are packaged by the hop growers takes place in the identified geographical area. When propagating Spalt Spalter hops, only mother plants from this region may be used.

3.6. Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc.:

—

3.7. Specific rules concerning labelling:

—

4. Concise definition of the geographical area:

The identified geographical area corresponds to the hop-growing region of Spalt. This area is defined in §3 of the Bavarian Implementing Provisions for the Hops Act (Bayerische Verordnung zur Durchführing des Hopfengesetzes (BayHopfDV) (source 4a). According to the provisions, the Spalt hop-growing region includes the certification districts (‘Siegelbezirke’) of Spalt and Kinding.

The following municipalities belong to the Spalt certification district:

Abenberg, Büchenbach, Georgensgmünd, Heideck, Röttenbach, Roth, Spalt, Absberg, Ellingen, Haundorf, Höttingen, Pfofeld, Pleinfeld, Mitteleschenbach, Neuendettelsau and Windsbach.

The following municipalities belong to the Kinding certification district: Altmannstein (only the districts of Pondorf and Schamhaupten), Beilngries, Denkendorf, Kinding, Kipfenberg, Titting, Greding and Berching.

5. Link with the geographical area:

5.1. Specificity of the geographical area:

In the Middle Ages, viticulture in the Spalt region gave way to the cultivation of hops. In areas of Spalt such as Großweingarten, hops are grown in former vineyards. The Spalt region’s mild climate makes it ideally suited to the cultivation of hops, with annual rainfall of 650 mm and a high number of sunshine hours (1 700 a year). Deep soils of loose to medium density that are swift to warm provide optimum hop-growing conditions.

In hydrogeological terms, the Spalt growing region is essentially defined by Keuper Sandstone and the Franconian Jura, and thus karstic-fissured aquifers. The soil is predominantly sandy loam to loam in texture and generally has poor water retention characteristics. On hilly terrain, hop plantations are usually located in valleys where there are sufficient water resources even during a sustained period of drought. The Spalt growing region is situated near the source of a number of small and medium-sized waterways. There are relatively few larger watercourses, however.

The producers, or growers, of ‘Spalt Spalter’ produce outstanding hops for the brewing industry. The Spalt hop-growing region is one of the smallest but also one of the finest and most traditional hop-growing areas. Hops have been cultivated in the area for over 1 000 years. Hops from the town of Spalt carry the world’s oldest seal of quality for hops. The seal was conferred on the town by the Prince Bishop of Eichstätt Philipp von Pappenheim in 1538 and reflects the importance attached by hop growers in Spalt to high standards. Spalt Spalter was already a much sought-after commodity in the Middle Ages. The delicate aroma varieties grown in the Spalt region are particularly well-suited to producing the finest beers (Der Gross Hopfen Atlas (The Hop Atlas), Barth, Klinke & Schmidt, p. 115).

There is a special tradition here of growing the highly aromatic ‘Spalter’ hop. This variety is a regional landrace from the ‘Saazer Formenkreis’ (Saazer group of varieties — Spalter, Tettnanger, Saazer), that have been cultivated for centuries around the town of Spalt and to this day are almost exclusively produced in the Spalt growing region. The climate and geological conditions have contributed to the development of a regional variation of the landrace. Quality, uniformity and aroma were continually improved through clonal selection. Expertise built up over many centuries, combined with the favourable climatic conditions of the Spalt region, have led to the development of a hop variety that is unique worldwide, enjoys an excellent international reputation and which because of the distinctive flavour it gives the beer is used by leading breweries to produce some of the finest beers.

5.2. Specificity of the product:

It is the unique growing conditions — the properties of the soil and the climatic conditions — which give ‘Spalt Spalter’ hops their distinctive quality. The conditions are such that ‘Spalt Spalter’ hops grown elsewhere would not be of the same high standard or quality and would produce a lower yield. The soil and climate have a profound impact in particular on the growth of the hops and the level of active substances they contain. ‘Spalt Spalter’ hops are characterised by their exquisite aromatic compounds. The myrcene content is approximately 20-35 % and the hops typically contain very high levels of farnesene (10-20 %) which is not found in such high quantities in aroma hops from other regions. The high farnesene content and relatively low levels of alpha acids (2,5-5,5 %) and beta acids (3,0-5,0 %) combine to create the unique overall character which defines the ‘Spalt Spalter’ aroma and makes it so exceptional. The direct relationship between the growing conditions and the typical hop characteristics they give rise to serves to demonstrate why the ‘Spalt Spalter’ variety should qualify for protected designation of origin status.

‘Spalt Spalter’ differs from most other hop varieties and growing regions, partly because of the geological conditions in the growing region and the unique climate — with 1 700 hours of sunshine per year on average and an average annual rainfall of just 650 mm — and partly because of its unusually high farnesene content. Moreover, ‘Spalt Spalter’ is characterised in its overall composition by a particularly intense and sophisticated hop aroma that in tastings is described as ‘flowery’, ‘fruity’ and ‘spicy’. The overall impression is of a beer with a well-balanced, full-bodied and mild ‘bouquet’ (see the variety portfolio produced by the CMA (Centrale Marketing-Gesellschaft der deutschen Agrarwirtschaft m.b.H) which provides tasting notes and brewing analysis).

‘Spalt Spalter’ has always been very highly rated at various trade shows and exhibitions. In terms of the most important quality characteristics of German hops, ‘Spalt Spalter’ is one of the leading aroma varieties. At numerous hop tastings ‘Spalt Spalter’ has been awarded top prizes for aroma and overall qualities.

5.3. Causal link between the geographical area and the quality or characteristics of the product (for PDO) or a specific quality, the reputation and/or other characteristic of the product (for PGI):

The soil and the temperate climate of the Spalt growing area, combined with centuries of expertise of local hop growers, have created a hop variety with unmistakable qualities which is unique worldwide. Even today the hop is practically only grown in the Spalt growing area and enjoys an excellent international reputation because of the distinctive flavour it imparts to the finished beer product.

The climate in the Spalt region, a former wine-growing area with an annual sunshine average of 1 700 hours and an average annual rainfall of just 650 mm, has a strong influence on the hops which grow in loose, sandy soil which is easily penetrated by roots. It is the unusual natural conditions in the Spalt growing region which give ‘Spalt Spalter’ hops their unique quality (see section 5.2, Specificity of the Product).

The unique environmental features of the Spalt growing region (average precipitation, temperature, soil profile, height above sea level, sunshine hours, and a water supply which is fed by smaller watercourses) combine to ensure that ‘Spalt Spalter’ hops cultivated here are of a uniquely high standard and quality. Other hop growing regions always lack one or more of the fundamental growing conditions (for example, the local rock formation/soil composition is different, they have fewer sunshine hours or, in the case of hilly terrain, there are no valleys).

Proof of origin

The hop industry has agreed common criteria for organising and carrying out quality inspections and these are laid down in the guidelines drawn up by the ‘Arbeitsgruppe neutrale Qualitätsfeststellung’ (Working Group on Neutral Quality Assessment). All market partners recognise the results. The neutral quality assessment system together with the documentation (on the origin and traceability of the hops) associated with the traditional sealing of the hops ensure that the origin of the hops can be clearly distinguished. Under official supervision, the producer weighs, labels and seals (with an official lead seal) the sacks of hops produced. He drafts an official declaration stating the quantity, weight and origin of the hops.

The production of ‘Spalt Spalter’ hops is sealed and certified either at the certification centre (hop cooling centre) or at the hop farm by an official according to certified principles, and a certificate stating the origins and growing region is issued. Without this certificate the hops cannot be processed or put on the market.

Reference to publication of the specification:

(Article 5(7) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)

Markenblatt Vol. 01 of 7 January 2011, Part 7c, p. 490

(http://www.register.dpma.de/dpmaregister/geo/detail.pdfdownload/17400)

(1) OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12.