Category:Hops

Hops on the vine.

Hops are the dried flowers of a twining vine (Humulus lupulus) which is part of the hemp family. Hops are mainly used to add bitterness to beer, as well as flavor and aroma in many styles of beer. There are dozens of varieties of hops with significant variation in flavor, aroma, and amount of alpha acids, which are what determine the strength of the bitterness which they impart.

Leaves from the cone flower of the hop plant, or Humulus Lupulus, have been used as a main beer ingredient and for medicinal purposes for hundreds of years. In addition to acting as a preservative, hops lend two qualities to beer: bitterness, and flavor/aroma. There is an inverse correlation between the amount of time a hop leaf spends in the boil, and the amount of actual hop flavor/aroma it imparts, while the opposite is true for the amount of bitterness that is extracted. In other words, the longer a hop leaf spends in the boiling wort, the more bitterness it imparts, but the less actual hop flavor/aroma is extracted. For these reasons, different hop varieties have different uses.

Certain hops are great for adding bitterness, but don't lend much in the way of good flavor/aroma, so these are added at the beginning of the boil. On the other hand, some other hops don't add much bitterness, but lend great hop flavor and aroma, so they are added later in the boil. Other varieties do well in both roles. When purchasing hops, many retailers include descriptions, which typically tell you which role(s) a particular hop variety is best suited for.

• Hops By Country
• Bittering Hops
• Flavouring Hops
• Aroma Hops
• History of Hops