Shipping to 30+ countries

Shipping

Hoptimaal offers a wide variety of beers both in-store and online. If you can place an order, we usually have the product in stock (though mistakes can happen, unfortunately). Products that are in stock will be shipped the same day if ordered before 3:00 PM.

If we make an error with stock levels, you will be notified within 24 hours. In that email, we will offer you an alternative product, the right to a full refund, and a new delivery time. It's up to you how you'd like us to resolve the issue.

We ship all orders with DPD from the Netherlands. You can choose between:

  • Home delivery or delivery to your work
  • Delivery to a DPD pickup point near you

Shipping costs and the free-shipping threshold for your country are in the table below.

Deposit

On cans and bottles we charge the Dutch deposit (statiegeld): €0.15 per can and €0.10 per bottle (a little more for some bottles). It shows as a separate line in your cart. The deposit belongs to the Dutch deposit system: you can return the packaging in the Netherlands, not in deposit machines in other countries.

Shipping Costs by Country

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CountryShipping costReduced rateFree shipping from
Netherlandspickup point €6.95
home €8.50		–€75
Belgium€8.95–€100
Germany€13.50–€100
Denmark€15.95–€150
Austria€15.95–€150
Bulgaria€47.50€25 from €150not available
Estonia€17.50–€150
Finlandpickup point €24.95
home €29.95		home: €10 from €200pickup point €200
home €250
France€16.95–€150
Greece€29.50€15 from €150not available
Hungary€21.95€10 from €150€200
Ireland€15.95–€150
Italy€16.95–€150
Croatia€47.50€25 from €150not available
Latvia€17.50–€150
Lithuania€21.95€10 from €150€200
Luxembourg€12.95–€150
Poland€15.95–€150
Portugal€19.95€10 from €150€200
Romania€27.50€10 from €150not available
Spain€18.75–€150
Czech Republic€15.95–€150
Swedenpickup point €24.95
home €29.95		home: €10 from €200pickup point €200
home €250
Norway*Coming soon
United Kingdom*Coming soon
Switzerland*Coming soon

Delivery

DPD generally delivers within 24 hours after receiving the parcel. So if we have received your order before 15:00 on working days, in 99% of cases you will have your order at home the next day. It may sometimes happen that they need one day longer. You can follow this via the Track & Trace details you receive from us, so you can see exactly where your order is. DPD also gives you a time window of 2 to 4 hours in which your order will be delivered. Not at home? No problem! You can indicate yourself whether you want them to come by again tomorrow or whether they should deliver it to the nearest post office.

Do you have a question about the delivery of your beer? Feel free to contact us: customer service.

Returns

You have a cooling-off period of 14 days after you have received the product. Within this period you can register the product for return. The email you received stating that your order is on its way contains a link that you can use to easily and free of charge download and print a return label. Returning is free: we provide the return label and the shipping costs of your return are at our expense. After registering your return, you have another 14 days to send the product back. If you bought multiple items at once, the period starts after receipt of your last item.

How do I return or exchange a product?

  • Fill in the return form within 14 days after receipt. If you are unable to print the return form, please write at least the order number and your name on a piece of paper and include it with your return.
  • Register your return with our customer service. You can do this by sending an email to: info@hoptimaal.nl or by calling 085 -130 1591. Or print your return label yourself via the link in the email titled "Your order is on its way".
  • After registering your return, you have another 14 days to send the product back.
  • Then send your return back in its original condition and with the packaging. Products that are damaged or incomplete are not eligible for exchange or refund.

Please note: after the 14-day cooling-off period it is no longer possible to return your product.

What can you expect after returning your product?

After receiving your return, you will receive a confirmation from us. This can take 3 working days, but in general we process your return on the day we receive it. We will check your return to see whether your product meets our return conditions and will then get to work on the solution you want.

Do you want your money back?

  • We will refund the purchase amount within 3 working days after confirmation of receipt to the account with which you paid. If you want to receive the purchase amount in another way, please contact us about the possibilities.
  • In case of visible signs of use, missing accessories or missing packaging, you are no longer entitled to a refund. If the packaging is not returned entirely in its original condition, we won't make a fuss and you will in any case get 75% of the purchase amount back. This is very rarely the case; usually the full purchase amount is simply refunded.

Do you want to receive a new product?

After receiving your return, we will send the new product right away. If the product is no longer in stock, we will refund the purchase amount to the account with which you paid.

  • Is the new product cheaper? The remaining amount will be refunded to your account within 3 working days.
  • Is the new product more expensive? You will receive a payment request for the remaining amount. After receipt of payment, we will send the product immediately.
  • Do you want to receive the new product at a different address or on a different day? Please contact us.

Exceptions

Beer that has been opened will not be taken back. We also do not take back beer that you ordered at a discount because the shelf life is almost expired. Of course we state this clearly on the product page, so that you are not surprised by a limited best-before date.

The item may be returned to the address below:

Hoptimaal
Leeghwater 5
3825MR Amersfoort
Netherlands

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Beer School › Hops · Hop variety

Fuggle

Fuggle is a classic English aroma hop from Kent, which arose as a chance seedling around 1861. It smells mild, grassy, lightly floral and earthy, sometimes a little minty, and belongs in bitters, milds and English ales.

  • CountryUnited Kingdom (Kent, England)
  • Breedernone; chance seedling, brought to market by hop grower Richard Fuggle
  • Introducedfound around 1861; first sale of planting stock in 1871 according to Martyn Cornell (1875 is often cited)
  • Parentagechance seedling, parents unknown (closely related to Goldings according to Martyn Cornell)
  • Typearoma
  • Alpha acids3.5–6.5% (according to the British Hop Association)

What is it?

Fuggle is an English hop variety that was not made by a breeder. It is a chance seedling: a plant that came up by itself around 1861 in a flower garden in Horsmonden, Kent. According to the old story, that garden belonged to a certain George Stace. According to beer historian Martyn Cornell, the man was actually called George Stace Moore, a carpenter. His nephew, hop grower Richard Fuggle, propagated the plant and brought it to market as 'Fuggle's Golding'.

According to Cornell, Fuggle became by far the most popular hop in Great Britain, and in 1950 it accounted for almost 78% of the English hop harvest. It is also at the root of many other varieties: the American Willamette is, according to Cornell, a triploid Fuggle, with an extra set of chromosomes, and Fuggle is in the family tree of Cascade too.

Aroma and flavour

Fuggle is a mild hop. Brewing author John Palmer describes the aroma as mild, soft, grassy and floral. The British Hop Association mentions fine, minty, grassy and lightly floral, with a round bitterness reminiscent of green tea. The hop merchant Hopsteiner mentions mild, grassy, mint and earthy.

Chemically, Fuggle differs from its compatriot Goldings in farnesene. According to the East Kent Goldings product specification, Fuggle has about 7.5% of it in its hop oil, Goldings only 0.5%. The exact figure varies by source and harvest: the British Hop Association gives 6–8%, the USDA measured 4.3% in Fuggle grown in the US. Hopsteiner rates the influence of fruity thiols as low.

In your glass, expect a soft, grassy and earthy hop aroma.

Use and similar hops

Fuggle is an aroma hop with a modest alpha acid content, 3.5–6.5% according to the British Hop Association. Palmer calls it a finishing hop and suitable for dry hopping in all ales and in dark lagers. According to the British Hop Association it is often used together with Goldings, and it can also serve as the main hop in the kettle.

  • Substitutes: Palmer mentions East Kent Goldings, Willamette and Styrian Goldings; Hopsteiner mentions Styrian Golding (Celeia), Willamette and Delta.
  • Family: according to the USDA, Willamette is a cross of a tetraploid Fuggle with a Fuggle seedling. In Slovenia, Fuggle was grown as 'Styrian Golding' (see the myth).
  • Susceptible: Fuggle is susceptible to verticillium wilt, a fungal disease. According to the British Hop Association, it has been grown in smaller quantities in the United Kingdom in recent years.

Myth or fact?

Partly true

‘Fuggle was introduced in 1875 by Richard Fuggle of Brenchley.’

A Richard Fuggle brought the variety to market, but according to beer historian Martyn Cornell as early as 1871. And the man in whose garden the plant came up was called George Stace Moore, not George Stace.

Partly true

‘Fuggle was introduced in 1875 by Richard Fuggle of Brenchley.’

The well-known story comes from an article by John Percival from 1901. The original plant is said to be a chance seedling in the flower garden of 'Mr George Stace' in Horsmonden, Kent, noticed in 1861. Around 1875, Richard Fuggle of Brenchley is said to have brought the hop to market. Many sources still repeat this, including the American USDA and the British Hop Association.

Beer historians looked into it. A George Stace could not be found in Horsmonden; according to Martyn Cornell it was George Stace Moore, a carpenter. And the only 'Richard Fuggle of Brenchley' of that period, the one of Fowle Hall, was only thirteen in 1861 and emigrated to Canada in 1871. In 2021 Cornell wrote that it was Richard Fuggle junior of Old Hay near Brenchley, a nephew of George Stace Moore, who brought the hop to market, as 'Fuggle's Golding'.

The year is not right either. In 2014 Cornell found a newspaper report from February 1875 that already called Fuggle's Golding a well-known variety with a high yield. In 2021 he wrote that the hop went on sale for the first time on 8 November 1871 in Paddock Wood, after ten years of propagating up to 100,000 cuttings.

In short: the place, the year 1861 and the family name Fuggle stand, but the name of the finder, the right Richard Fuggle and the year of introduction have been revised.

Sources

Myth

‘Styrian Golding is a Golding.’

Despite the name, Styrian Golding is not a Golding, but Fuggle grown in Slovenia. The name dates from the time when Fuggle was seen as a kind of Golding.

Myth

‘Styrian Golding is a Golding.’

The name throws you off. According to the American USDA, Styrian, also called Savinjski or Savinja Golding, was selected in what was then Yugoslavia from a Fuggle imported from England, and is identical to an American Fuggle selection. Brewing author John Palmer calls Styrian Goldings 'seedless Fuggles', Fuggle without seed, grown in Yugoslavia.

Why 'Golding' then? According to beer historian Martyn Cornell, Richard Fuggle brought his hop to market around 1871 as 'Fuggle's Golding', because he thought it was a Golding variant. According to him, the Fuggles that went to Slovenia were therefore grown as 'Styrian Goldings'. The Oxford Companion to Beer tells it slightly differently: Slovenian growers got new planting stock from England in the 1930s and thought they had chosen a Golding. Cornell mentions the 1880s; the sources therefore differ on the year, but not on the confusion. Cornell also writes that British brewers imported Styrian Goldings for their lagers in the 1950s, without realising that it was the same hop as in their milds and bitters.

The two varieties may not be entirely unrelated. The product specification of East Kent Goldings still calls Fuggle an unrelated variety, but according to Cornell, Czech genetic research from 2019 showed that Goldings and Fuggle are closely related. Either way they remain different varieties, with a different chemistry: according to the product specification of East Kent Goldings, Fuggle has much more farnesene in its hop oil than Goldings.

Sources

Myth

‘American Tettnanger is the same hop as German Tettnanger.’

What was grown in the US as 'Tettnanger' was, according to the USDA, originally a mix with Fuggle and later largely Fuggle, an English variety with a different chemistry.

Myth

‘American Tettnanger is the same hop as German Tettnanger.’

In the US, 'Tettnanger' was grown on a large scale: according to the USDA about 2,800 acres in Idaho, Washington and Oregon in 1988. But according to the same USDA, that 'US Tettnanger' was originally a mix with Fuggle, and in later years largely Fuggle. Trade experts judged it to be Fuggle, and its quality characteristics also resembled Fuggle more than Tettnanger. Beer historian Martyn Cornell describes how, by mistake, a batch of Fuggle was distributed as 'Tettnanger' from an American hop farm, and how it was later designated Fuggle again.

That these are different hops shows in the figures. True Tettnanger belongs to the Saaz family and has an alpha/beta ratio around 1 and a lot of farnesene in the oil: 14–24% according to Hopsteiner. For US Tettnanger the USDA gives an alpha/beta ratio of about 2, 'very similar to Fuggle'. Fuggle itself has about 4% farnesene according to the USDA.

German Tettnanger grows in Germany only in the Tettnang region. So whether an American batch of 'Tettnanger' is true Tettnanger, you cannot tell from the name: ask which variety it is exactly.

Sources

A bit of history

For a long time the story held that Richard Fuggle of Brenchley introduced the hop around 1875. Cornell found something different in old newspapers: as early as February 1875, a newspaper called Fuggle's Golding a well-known variety that gave a high yield. Later he wrote that the hop went on sale for the first time in Paddock Wood on 8 November 1871. Richard Fuggle and his brothers had by then propagated it for ten years, up to 100,000 cuttings.

After that things moved fast. According to Cornell, Fuggle was also growing in the northwestern US from 1892. It was grown in Slovenia as well; when it arrived there differs by source: Cornell mentions the 1880s, The Oxford Companion to Beer the 1930s. In 1950 it accounted for almost 78% of the harvest in England. After that the acreage collapsed due to verticillium wilt; according to Cornell, only about twelve English growers still grew Fuggle in 2021.

How to taste it

A good starting point is an English bitter or pale ale. For bitter, the BJCP calls English finishing hops the most traditional, with a hop aroma that can be floral, earthy, resinous or fruity. In an English brown ale or porter, the BJCP describes a light to at most moderate floral or earthy hop. Smell for grass, earth and a hint of mint or flowers, and notice how the hop leaves room for the malt and the fruity notes of the yeast.

Where it takes centre stage

Pale AlePale ale is a hoppy, easy-drinking beer of medium strength, with just enough malt... Brown AleBrown ale is a brown, malty beer with notes of caramel, nuts, toffee or... PorterPorter is a dark brown to almost black beer that appeared in London in...

Similar to: East Kent Goldings

More hop varieties

AmarilloCascadeCentennialChinookCitraColumbus (CTZ)East Kent GoldingsEl DoradoGalaxyHallertau BlancHallertauer MittelfrühIdaho 7MosaicMotuekaNectaronNelson SauvinRiwakaSaazSabroSimcoeStrataTettnangerVic Secret

Terms

Verticillium wilt
A fungal disease of hops (Verticillium) that makes plants wilt; it spreads via infected plant material, carried by the wind, by vehicles and by people on foot. Old varieties such as Hallertauer Mittelfrüh and Fuggle are susceptible to it, and that contributed strongly to the shrinking of their cultivation.
Farnesene
One of the heavier aroma compounds in hop oil. Saaz and Tettnanger have a lot of it (about 14–20% or more of the oil), Hallertauer Mittelfrüh and Goldings almost none; such differences in the oil help to tell hop varieties apart chemically.
Hop oil
The volatile, fragrant oil from hops (according to John Palmer 0.5–3% of dried hops; some modern varieties are higher, Galaxy according to HPA 2.6–3.3 ml per 100 grams), with compounds such as myrcene, linalool and geraniol; it largely evaporates during the boil, which is why brewers add aroma hops late or dry hop them.
Alpha acids
The main bitter compounds from hops (humulones); they dissolve poorly and are hardly bitter, but during the boil they turn into iso-alpha acids, which do taste bitter.
Dry hopping
Adding hops after the wort has been boiled, often during or after fermentation, mainly for a fresh, strong hop aroma.
Esters
Aroma compounds that arise during fermentation and give beer a fruity aroma and flavour, for example of plum or raisin in an imperial stout; they are common in top-fermented beers (ales).
Triploid hop
Hops with three sets of chromosomes instead of the usual two, usually bred by crossing a tetraploid mother plant (four sets) with an ordinary male plant. Triploid plants set little seed; according to NZ Hops, New Zealand has been growing such almost seedless varieties commercially since 1972.
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