Hof der dingen - Menohop

If there's one thing our province excels at – it’s brewing beer. 

From Sint-Bernardus to Omer, from Bavik to the world’s best beer from Sint-Sixtus (Westvleteren) — we’re regular beer connaisseurs. And we probably have the abundance of hops in the Westhoek to thank for that. 

Today, around twenty hop or “hommel” growers remain in the region around Poperinge — and they dominate the Belgian market. Did you know that 95% of all Belgian hops are grown in West Flanders, mainly in the Westhoek? And 80% of that hop productions is exported abroad. 

We’ll raise our glass to that – excellent work, West Flanders! 

At the Hop Museum in Poperinge, you can dive headfirst into this story and marvel at their collection of over 2,500 beers. Hops belong to the hemp family and are best known as an essential ingredient in brewing. They add bitterness to the flavour and help preserve the beer. 

But hops are a versatile plant – with some unexpected qualities. 

When hop harvesting still required lots of manual labour, women were often hired to pick hops. Oddly enough, many of them reported disrupted hormone cycles during the harvest. Turns out, hops contain compounds that resemble estrogen. 

So naturally, some West Flemish entrepreneurs decided to create herbal extracts made from hop, aimed at easing menopause symptoms. Scientific evidence? Still inconclusive. But if it doesn’t help, well… at least there’s always a good glass of beer to drown your disappointment. 

Thanks to the Hop Museum of Poperinge for this fun little fact.