What is "coigneau"

Coigneau is a Belgian variety of hop which was massively cultivated in the Flemish Aalst- Asse area near Brussels in the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century. Because of the light bitterness the Coigneau was during a considerable period of time the favorite hop used for Lambic beer brewed in the Pajottenland region of Belgium (southwest of Brussels). Traditional lambic brewing required aged hops but utilized fresh hops as well, preferably in a 50%/50% proportion. The addition of fresh hops was possible because the local hop variety Coigneau contained low alpha-acids and thus added little to the bitterness of the resulting brew.