a term that has an undeniable ring of antiquity and distinction to it, yet is merely a marketing tag and of recent vintage at that. The term was created in the United States only sometime in the 1980s and has no technical meaning. It was meant to set apart from the world’s hundreds of hop varieties a select few, venerable Continental European ones with fairly low alpha acid and fairly high essential oil contents. These were initially the German Hallertauer Mittelfrueh, Spalter, and Tettnanger, and the Czech Saaz from the Žatec region of Bohemia. See hallertauer mittelfrueh (hop), saaz (hop), and tettnanger (hop). The term “Noble hops” has since migrated into other languages, including French (houblons nobles), Spanish (lúpulos nobles), and even German (edelhopfen). What ties these four varieties together, beyond their delicate, elegant, herbal, and floral aromas, is their powerful terroir, which is their centuries-old history of having been grown in and having adapted to their home territories. Before the emergence of their “noble” designation, these hops were often referred to just as “fine hops.” Today, there is no longer any agreement as to which hops do and which do not belong into the lofty ranks of Humulus lupulus nobility. However, because there is no scientific or legal basis for adjudicating such assignations, that battle is best left for dueling marketers to settle.