Purchasing Hops in Germany
 

We will be traveling to Germany in June - Berlin and Heidelberg. When we were in Munich last year, in September, wreaths made of hops and loose bunches of hops were available for sale all over at the markets. They were used for decoration and, we were told, for luck. I wanted to incorporate hops into my wedding bouquet and decoration and wondered if anyone knows whether they will be as easy to find in Heidelberg or Berlin and if they are available all year round. I would appreciate any tips! Thanks!

you should check with US Customs' agricultural division to see whether you can import hops into the US - certain crops simply cannot be brought in and it's kind of hard to hide such a wreathe i guess - or you could mail it and not be found out probably. Many airports have beagle corps just to sniff out plant and meat matter.

I import my hops from Germany in 5-liter kegs. ;)

PalenQ - good point, I will check, but the hops are dried, so I think it should be okay.

Robespierre - it is because I want to acknowledge my fiance's affection for the hops delivered via keg that I'd like to incorporate the bud into our decor! It's actually a pretty plant. And tasty!

tasty? i've tried hops at our local Whole Foods market and i'd say they're anything but tasty - bitter as well bitters that make bittered beer bitter.

Well, tasty as part of beer...

Hops are harvested in August/September usually so you will have trouble finding fresh ones in June. Why not use US hops? The US is a major producer and exporter of hops.

Outside Bavaria they will be hard to find anyway.

Yes, we're also thinking of trying to order them from Colorado - it's just that in Germany I saw them used specifically as decoration and I haven't had much luck here finding anything like that. A quick search on the internet didn't yield any sellers in the US who ship hops as a decoration. I would be purchasing dried ones anyway - that's how we saw them in Munich in September, so I am hopeful that at least dried ones are a year round product. Thanks!