Hops

Hops — Hops are the female flowers of the hop plant (Humulus lupulus). They are used primarily as a flavouring and stability agent in beer, and also for other beverages and in herbal medicine. The first documented use in beer is from the eleventh century. Hops contain several characteristics favourable to beer, balancing the sweetness of the malt with bitterness, contributing flowery, citrus, fruity or herbal aromas, and having an antibiotic effect that favors the activity of brewer’s yeast over less desirable microorganisms. The hop plant is a vigorous climbing herbacious perrennial, usually grown up strings in a field called a hop garden or hop yard. Many different varieties of hop are grown by farmers all around the world, with different types being used for particular styles of beer.

The only major commercial use for hops is in beer, although hops are also an ingredient in Julmust, a carbonated beverage similar to cola soda that is popular in Sweden during December. Hops are also used in herbal medicine.