Saaz has a very distinctive flavour. When used in beer, the resultant aroma is very mild, earthy, herbal and spicy. Despite its popularity and noble pedigree, Saaz generally has a very low Alpha Acid level and is not very effective as a bittering hop. This hop is generally used for Bohemian style lagers and pilseners.Saaz is a "noble" variety of hops. It was named after the Czech town of Žatec (German: Saaz). This hop is used extensively in Bohemia to flavor beer as the Czech pilsner.

Saaz hops accounted for more than +2⁄3 of total 2009 hop production in the Czech Republic.[1] It is the main hop variety used in the production of global beer Stella Artois, a Belgian pilsner.