Apple juice with hops

Kohl Cuvée Apple Juice with Hops, spicy and bittersweet

Just a small touch of hop extract transforms the naturally cloudy mountain apple juice from Ritten: Kohl Cuvée Apple Juice with Hops is spicy, bittersweet, and incredibly drinkable. Awarded Gold with 19 out of 20 points at the 2019 Mostbarkeiten competition.

Apple juice with hops is the most exciting juice creation from Thomas Kohl in South Tyrol: Just a hint of hop extract enchants the mountain apple juice, turning it into something entirely new. Spicy, bittersweet, and incredibly drinkable—anyone who thinks of beer when they hear the word "hops" will be proven wrong here.

It shines straw-yellow in its elegant bottle, with a floral and green scent wafting from the glass. On the palate, tart notes enliven the senses with fine acidity and warm sweetness; the juice also exhibits firmness, fullness, and a long finish. The hops provide that bitterness which gives the apple an edge—and suddenly, the apple juice drinks like an aperitif.

With pizza, grilled dishes, and coffee-infused desserts

The apple juice with hops is suitable for roasted and grilled dishes, pizza, strong cheeses, and desserts featuring coffee.

It pairs well with hearty food and thrives alongside salty, savory, and spicy flavors—it even stands up to heat. Served with smoked salmon and chicory, its true potential is revealed—where the hop tartness meets the bitterness of the chicory, and the smoked salmon holds its own against both. It is the obvious choice for Friday night pizza when regular apple spritzer just isn't enough.

Gold at the 2019 Mostbarkeiten

At the Alps-Adriatic Mostbarkeiten tasting in Carinthia, the mountain apple juice with hops scored 19 out of 20 points, taking home Gold—the same score as the single-varietal Pinova.

At that time, around 1,600 products from 300 companies were presented to the 25-member expert jury from five countries; Kohl has summarized the results on his own blog. The fact that his most unconventional cuvée placed so highly speaks to the courage with which Thomas Kohl created it.

Twenty years ago, overlooking the apple trees

"Twenty years ago, I felt like I wanted to try something new," says Thomas Kohl, who grew up in the mountains, looking out at his apple trees.

At first, he didn't want to take over the farm from his father, because cattle weren't quite his thing. "So I convinced my father to plant apples on the mountain and make juice out of them," the charming apple juice affineur continues. "Of course, I didn't think that my apples, which grow at almost 1,000 meters above sea level on the Ritten, would one day be pressed into the best fruit juice in Italy, but I certainly hoped for it," he laughs mischievously.

This is exactly the courage found in the hops: anyone who is the first to have the idea of adding a beer plant to apple juice must be convinced of their cause. Both partners must win, which is how Thomas approaches every one of his cuvées—this is the art of affinage, and he has mastered it completely. For this, the hop cones are harvested at the right time and carefully dosed as an extract: the more sparingly used, the more clearly the apple remains recognizable underneath.

What Thomas Kohl himself recommends for the glass

Thomas Kohl recommends serving the apple juice with hops at 8 to 10 degrees Celsius in a stemmed glass so that the aromas can unfold just like with a wine. Once opened, the bottle stays good in the refrigerator for six days, and unopened and stored in the dark, for at least a year. The apple juice with apple mint has a cooling rather than tart effect; together, these blends can be found under the Kohl Cuvées.