I was wondering how hops was sourced back in the in colder climates! Like, they brewed beer in fairly northern cities even back then, where hops availability was probably limited. I wouldn’t have guessed they sourced it from abroad (here: probably Belgium or NL) rather than omitting it.
In present-day Germany, commercial hops cultivation is pretty much confined between 47.5 - 48.5°, i.e. southern Germany. Do you know why that is?