Green Gold Brewing
• • • Hidden Gem Award • • •
Robyn Gilmour
Saturday 18 October 2025
This article is from
Beer Awards 2025
issue 123
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Though only the second year we’ve run this award, it’s quickly becoming one of my favourites, due to the fact that it invites us to think about beer outside the box and off the beaten track. Last year, this award took us to Malta, and now, it invites us to Slovenia. Despite being the fourth largest hop producer in the world by volume — growing more than Australia and New Zealand — hops from Slovenia rarely make their way into UK craft beer. Green Gold Brewing is doing its best to change that.
“Green Gold Brewing was born out of a deep family tradition and a passion for hops,” says Luka Rojnik, the brewery’s ‘supreme leader’, by his own description. “For nearly 150 years, my family has been cultivating hops in the heart of the Savinja Valley. In fact, my ancestors were the very first to bring hops from Germany to Slovenia, laying the foundation for what would become the country’s most important hop-growing region. Generations worked the same fields, perfecting the craft of growing some of the world’s finest Styrian hops, known for their unique aroma and flavour.”
From this heritage, the idea grew: why not take the hops the Rojniks had nurtured for so long and brew some beer themselves? In 2016, Green Gold Brewing was founded, with the mission of brewing bold, flavourful beers that showcase the best of Slovenian hops. The first batches were brewed on a small system, combining traditional brewing knowledge with innovative recipes. Soon, the brewery became known for hop-forward beers, from crisp lagers to juicy IPAs, each one telling the story of the land they came from, and creating a direct link between the Savinja Valley’s fields and the pint glass.
“The name ‘Green Gold’ itself comes from the nickname for hops in Slovenia—a tribute to both the crop that defined our family and the beers we proudly brew today,” says Luka. “What began as a hop farm has grown into a brewery that exports Slovenian brewing tradition around the world, while still remaining deeply rooted in its origin: family, hops, and the love of beer. We mainly focus on hoppy beers, and we’re trying to innovate with hops that might not be as well known as their American counterparts. We also brew some kettle sours, stouts and lagers, and have a small barrel aging programme with imperial stout that has been aged for 4 years in bourbon barrels.”
“Green Gold Brewing was founded to carry that legacy forward—transforming the hops we’ve grown for generations into beers that showcase their unique character. By brewing with our own harvest as well as those from neighbouring farms, we’ve created a direct link between the valley’s fields and the pint glass.”
“Today, our brewery is at the center of Slovenia’s craft beer community,” says Luka. “We collaborate with local and international brewers, host festivals, and actively promote Slovenian hops to the wider brewing world. Being both farmers and brewers means we are deeply tied to our community, and we take pride in representing Slovenia as a modern center of hop growing and craft beer on the global stage. In particular, we’re working really hard to get our beer into the UK, and show British craft drinkers what magic goes on in our little valley of hops. We will be doing a tap takeover tour again in the UK in December and of course we will attend many festivals in the UK.”
When asked what change Luka would like to see in the world of craft beer over the next year, he says, “I wish more brewers would focus on clean fermentation and brewing balanced beers instead of adjunct-heavy beers that a lot of breweries produce these days. For me, nothing beats a crisp clean lager or a very balanced west coast IPA that hits you in the head with bitterness and hoppiness.”
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